Farmland Atlas · county record

Cerro Gordo County, Iowa

Cerro Gordo County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $260 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,033 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 184.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19033. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cerro Gordo County averages $260 per acre, up 8.3 percent from 2016 to 2026. Census land value in 2022 stood at $9,033 per acre, up 23 percent from 2017 to 2022. Corn yield trend runs 2.9 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 184.4 bushels per acre and a worst year of 124.8 in 2012. Drought weeks tell a mixed story: 137 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 hit severe drought or worse, and 51 of those weeks fell in 2021-2025 alone. Heat and drought's share of indemnities climbed from 2 percent in 1989-1999 to 36 percent in 2010-2019, then eased to 31 percent in 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$260/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 42nd lowest of 99
Cash rent, irrigated
$284/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$9,033/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 44th lowest of 99
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
184.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 199.9
IA median 190.1 · 28th lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.41
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 45th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
59%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 17th highest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$167$260 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$260/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+8.3%nominal, $240 to $260
Irrigated, 2025$284/ac
Pasture, 2026$53/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.30$260 ÷ 199.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,033/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,631/ac
Census 2017$7,341/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+23.0%+4.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.57%$232 ÷ $9,033; cropland 94% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024166.0216.9196.3median 184.4

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025184.4 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025199.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 124.8 bu/ac68% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.9 bu/ac a year±1.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920243.207.760.751.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$2.41
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.36claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.74$199.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 37
Worst year1993ratio 7.76
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 37% · heat and drought 30% · price decline (revenue policies) 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020252400

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025137 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201240 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202551 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.0 °F1991–2020 normal 61.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.13 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202265% of cropland204,801 ac
Farmed no-till, 20229% of cropland27,953 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland7,556 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202117320,04215,311

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 202515,311 ac4.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,544 ac23% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$249/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20252.6 MW solar · 91.5 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202210,420+8.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202259%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cerro Gordo County$260$284 2025$9,033184.4$2.41
Floyd County$293$282 2025$9,857189.6$3.08
Franklin County$271—$10,718199.6$2.43
Hancock County$265$292$9,457194.8$2.99
Mitchell County$277—$10,387193.9$3.68
Worth County$241—$9,241192.3$3.03
Median next door$271$292 1 co.$9,857193.9$3.03

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/iowa/cerro-gordo-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.