County farm facts

Hardin County, Iowa

Hardin County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $280 an acre (2026); land and buildings $10,393 an acre in the 2022 census; corn 14-yr trend 218.8 bu/ac. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19083. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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As of Oct 16, cash rent in Hardin County runs $280 an acre for 2026, 33rd highest of 99 in Iowa and above the state median of $266. That rent is up 9.8% from $255 in 2016. The census value of land and buildings came in at $10,393 an acre in 2022, up 33.0% from $7,813 in 2017, and it ranks 28th highest of 99. 60% of the farmland was rented in 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$280/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 33rd highest of 99
Land and buildings
$10,393/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · IA farm real estate 2026: $10,100 (land and buildings, state survey)
IA median $9,410 · 28th highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.46%
$256 dry rent ÷ $10,393 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
218.8 bu/ac
all practices trend · 2025 county yield 208.7 · 2021-25 average 211.0 (all practices)
IA median 218.8 · tied for 41st highest of 83
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.67
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · tied for 46th highest of 99
Farmland rented
60%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 14th highest of 99
Open on the map Compare Iowa cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures
Feeder cattle futures
Live cattle futures
Lean hog futures
Hay, Iowa price received

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Iowa cash bids by town · Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Cash bids by town near the middle of Hardin County: Hubbard (6 mi), Iowa Falls (9 mi), Steamboat Rock (9 mi).

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 9 ethanol plants, 3 oilseed crushers
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Hardin County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from Renewable Fuels Association, EIA, NOPA, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Hardin County, Iowa

Drought, year by year

2000200520102015202020259240

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, 2000–2025119 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201224 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–202557 weeks
2026 so far0 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.0 °F1991–2020 normal 62.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.18 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September, usual26.6 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 24.7 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeApr 25, Oct 12middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days169middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,686middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,810

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024159.0216.6208.7median 193.2

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

14-yr trend (projected 2026)218.8 bu/acall practices county yields, 13 years, R² 0.30; the figure rent per bushel uses
2025 county yield208.7 bu/acall practices
2021-25 average211.0 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2025193.2 bu/ac17 published years
Lowest published year2020: 155.7 bu/ac81% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.8 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$177$280 dry

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.

Non-irrigated, 2026$280/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+9.8%nominal, $255 to $280
Pasture, 2026$55/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.28$280 ÷ 218.8 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026), all practices
Rent as a share of corn gross, 202533.0%$282 non-irrigated rent 2025 ÷ (208.7 bu, 2025 county yield, all practices × $4.10 Iowa price received); the county reports no irrigated corn; the 2025 price is preliminary

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 14-yr trend. The calculator below starts from that trend and lets you put in your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$10,393/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,385/ac
Census 2017$7,813/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.0%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.46%$256 ÷ $10,393; cropland 93% of land in farms
Iowa cropland, 2026 state survey$10,700/ac+3.9% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Iowa farm real estate, 2026$10,100/acland and buildings, state average
Iowa pasture, 2026$3,800/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Iowa average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Newer local survey: ISU Land Value Survey 2025, Iowa State University, released Dec 9, 2025: county land values, high, medium and low quality land. Their numbers, on their page; this page does not copy them.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Hardin County.

Insuring pasture or hay? PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Hardin County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920241.124.140.571.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$2.67
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.44claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.75$188.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 34crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Worst year2014ratio 4.14, of the 34 crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 23% · heat and drought 23% · price decline (revenue policies) 18%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

1986199119962001200620112016202113110,7358,998

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

CRP enrolled, 20258,998 ac3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2027–20292,231 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$286/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022under 1%
Drained by tile, 202264% of cropland199,885 ac
Farmed no-till, 202213% of cropland41,202 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland5,602 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 153 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202216,563−55.3% since 2017
Milk cows, 202215head, Census of Agriculture
Beef cows, 20226,577head, Census of Agriculture
Cattle on feed, 20224,501head, Census of Agriculture
Hogs and pigs, 2022860,744head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202260%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Hardin County, Iowa change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Hardin County$280$10,393193.2$2.67
Franklin County$271$10,718199.6$2.43
Grundy County$322$12,121198.5$1.90
Hamilton County$301$11,157188.9$1.52
Marshall County$286$9,375203.1$3.73
Story County$290$10,914188.7$2.44
Median next door$290$10,914198.5$2.43

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Hardin County, Iowa. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/iowa/hardin-county
Every 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).