Farmland Atlas · county record

Hamilton County, Iowa

Hamilton County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $301 an acre (2026); land and buildings $11,157 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 188.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19079. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Hamilton County runs $301 per acre in 2026, up 20.9 percent from 2016. Land value carries the census figure of $11,157 per acre, with a 37.5 percent rise from 2017 to 2022. Corn yield has trended up 3.5 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 188.9 bushels per acre and a worst year of 135 in 2013. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities moved from 2 percent in 1989-1999 to 6 percent in 2000-2009 to 44 percent in 2010-2019 to 33 percent in 2020-2025. No cropland in the county is irrigated, and wind capacity stands at 425.6 MW operating with 0 MW proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$301/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 9th highest of 99
Land and buildings
$11,157/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 10th highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.5%
$279 dry rent ÷ $11,157 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
188.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 212.5
IA median 190.1 · 40th lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 10th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
65%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 2nd highest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$198$301 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$301/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+20.9%nominal, $249 to $301
Pasture, 2026$41/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.42$301 ÷ 212.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$11,157/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,121/ac
Census 2017$8,115/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+37.5%+6.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.5%$279 ÷ $11,157; cropland 95% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024157.0215.5212.7median 188.9

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

Median, 2008–2025188.9 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025212.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 135.0 bu/ac72% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.5 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.044.600.441.00: 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$1.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.25claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.72$201.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 34
Worst year2013ratio 4.60
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 33% · excess moisture 25% · price decline (revenue policies) 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202512340

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, 2000–2025129 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201334 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202529 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.4 °F1991–2020 normal 62.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.02 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 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, 202267% of cropland234,936 ac
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland25,840 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland5,509 ac
198619911996200120062011201620217613,27312,441

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

CRP enrolled, 202512,441 ac3.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20285,476 ac44% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$301/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 425.6 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20223,888+52.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202265%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Hamilton County$301$11,157188.9$1.52
Boone County$263$10,746192.4$2.20
Hardin County$280$10,393193.2$2.67
Story County$290$10,914188.7$2.44
Webster County$275$10,795194.2$1.54
Wright County$267$10,313189.9$2.47
Median next door$275$10,746192.4$2.44

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. Hamilton 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/hamilton-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.