Farmland Atlas · county record

Clarke County, Iowa

Clarke County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $167 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,329 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 145.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19039. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Clarke County runs $167 per acre in 2026, down 21.2 percent since 2014. Land value stood at $5,329 per acre in the 2022 census, up 24.8 percent from 2017. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has climbed across the record: 4 percent in 1989-1999, 12 percent in 2000-2009, 46 percent in 2010-2019, 80 percent in 2020-2025. The July nightly low sits at 65.5 F for 2017-2026 against a 64.3 F normal for 1991-2020, with no clear direction in the longer trend since 1976. Corn yield trend runs 5.4 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 145.7 and a low of 76.7 in 2012. No solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$167/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$5,329/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 3rd lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
3.27%
$174 dry rent ÷ $5,329 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
145.7 bu/ac
12 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.96
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · highest of 99
Farmland rented
24%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$129$167 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$167/ac
Change 2014 to 2026−21.2%nominal, $212 to $167
Pasture, 2026$68/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,329/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,378/ac
Census 2017$4,271/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+24.8%+4.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.27%$174 ÷ $5,329; cropland 58% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024109.0138.984.5107.776.7126.5162.2152.4163.9161.8155.2183.9median 145.7

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

Median, 2008–2024145.7 bu/ac12 published years
Lowest published year2012: 76.7 bu/ac53% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+5.4 bu/ac a year±3.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620211.832.710.151.00: 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$6.96
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.00$88.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 24
Worst year2012ratio 2.71
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 50% · heat and drought 39% · price decline (revenue policies) 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202517320

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, 2000–2025151 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200332 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202543 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.5 °F1991–2020 normal 64.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.09 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 84% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20229% of cropland9,006 ac
Farmed no-till, 202233% of cropland33,776 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland4,363 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,91939,70827,983

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

CRP enrolled, 202527,983 ac30% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20289,568 ac34% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$187/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202225,296−28.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202224%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Clarke County$167$5,329—$6.96
Decatur County$167$5,732159.3$4.68
Lucas County$176$5,715—$4.39
Madison County$221$7,700169.6$1.54
Union County$266$5,970154.8$3.64
Warren County$218$7,820163.6$1.94
Median next door$218$5,970161.5$3.64

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. Clarke 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/clarke-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.