Decatur County, Iowa
Decatur County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $167 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,732 an acre in the 2022 census; corn 15-yr trend 196.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19053. Figures as of 2026-10-06.
IA median $266 · tied for lowest of 99
IA median $9,410 · 8th lowest of 99
IA median 218.8 · 5th lowest of 83
IA median $2.49 · 6th highest of 99
IA median 51% · 5th lowest of 99
Decatur County's non-irrigated cash rent is $167 per acre in 2026, up 2.5 percent from 2016. Land itself is valued higher: the 2022 census puts land and buildings at $5,732 per acre, after a 49.1 percent rise from 2017 to 2022. Cropland here is 0 percent irrigated, so water for crops comes from rain, and the county has spent 2 of the last 2021-2025 weeks in severe drought or worse. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities was 7 percent in 1989-1999, 12 percent in 2000-2009, 52 percent in 2010-2019 and 72 percent in 2020-2025. Flood and excess moisture still lead all causes of loss since 1989, at 49 percent of $78.7 million paid.
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.
Every published Iowa county rate, side by side: Iowa cash rent by county.
Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel uses this year's rent over the 15-yr trend. The calculator below starts from that trend and lets you put in your own yield and price.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur County | $167 | $5,732 | 159.3 | $4.68 |
| Clarke County | $167 | $5,329 | n/a | $6.96 |
| Ringgold County | $201 | $5,670 | n/a | $2.72 |
| Wayne County | $199 | $5,741 | 158.0 | $3.73 |
| Harrison County, MO | $136 | $3,799 | n/a | $4.41 |
| Mercer County, MO | $139 | $3,903 | n/a | $6.57 |
| Median next door | $167 | $5,329 | 158.0 1 co. | $4.41 |
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. Decatur County, Iowa. Figures as of 2026-10-06, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/iowa/decatur-countyEvery figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.