Farmland Atlas · county record

Dubuque County, Iowa

Dubuque County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $303 an acre (2026); land and buildings $10,692 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 198.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19061. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Dubuque County runs $303 per acre for 2026, up 16.1 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $10,692 per acre in 2022, up 23.9 percent from 2017, a pace of 4.4 percent a year. Corn yields carry a trend of 3.3 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 198.3 bushels per acre and a worst year of 149.4 in 2012. Heat and drought's share of indemnities moved from 17 percent in 1989-1999 to 14 percent in 2000-2009 to 55 percent in 2010-2019 to 56 percent in 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 is 0.46, below the 1989-2025 figure of 0.78. No cropland in the county was irrigated as of the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$303/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 6th highest of 99
Land and buildings
$10,692/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 23rd highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.56%
$274 dry rent ÷ $10,692 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
198.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 218.7
IA median 190.1 · 11th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.47
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · tied for 48th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
37%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 15th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$176$303 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$303/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+16.1%nominal, $261 to $303
Pasture, 2026$70/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.39$303 ÷ 218.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$10,692/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,093/ac
Census 2017$8,633/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+23.9%+4.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.56%$274 ÷ $10,692; cropland 80% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024158.0223.7217.3median 198.3

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

Median, 2008–2025198.3 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025218.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 149.4 bu/ac75% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2000200520102015202020250.294.250.331.00: 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$2.47
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.46claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.78$109.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 26
Worst year2012ratio 4.25
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 48% · excess moisture 22% · price decline (revenue policies) 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250250

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, 2000–202560 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201225 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202515 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.1 °F1991–2020 normal 62.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.17 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 96% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 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, 202235% of cropland89,954 ac
Farmed no-till, 202229% of cropland72,928 ac
Cover crops, 202212% of cropland31,194 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202116927,2539,320

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,320 ac3.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,796 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$239/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20253.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022122,012−7.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202237%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Dubuque County$303$10,692198.3$2.47
Clayton County$266$7,648194.2$1.63
Delaware County$298$10,164197.4$2.05
Jackson County$275$8,284189.2$2.08
Jones County$279$9,299190.1$3.27
Jo Daviess County, IL$255$7,940190.1$2.54
Grant County, WI$247$6,306190.7$1.96
Median next door$271$8,112190.4$2.07

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. Dubuque 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/dubuque-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.