Farmland Atlas · county record

Jefferson County, Iowa

Jefferson County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $244 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,951 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 167.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19101. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Jefferson County stands at $244 per acre for 2026, up 15.6 percent from 2016. Census land value in 2022 was $6,951 per acre, up 25.5 percent from 2017, or 4.6 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 4 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 167.2 bushels per acre against a worst year of 98.5 in 2010. Excess moisture and flood is the largest cause of indemnities over 1989-2025 at 46 percent, but the heat and drought share has moved 19 percent, 12 percent, 53 percent, 55 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. Solar and wind capacity, operating or proposed, is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$244/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 24th lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$6,951/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 15th lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
3.5%
$243 dry rent ÷ $6,951 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
167.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 190.8
IA median 190.1 · 11th lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.99
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · tied for 29th highest of 99
Farmland rented
42%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 24th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$157$244 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$244/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+15.6%nominal, $211 to $244
Pasture, 2026$71/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,951/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,591/ac
Census 2017$5,538/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+25.5%+4.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.5%$243 ÷ $6,951; cropland 79% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024167.0203.7199.4median 167.2

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

Median, 2008–2025167.2 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025190.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 98.5 bu/ac59% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.0 bu/ac a year±2.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020252.833.060.091.00: 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$2.99
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.37claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.80$111.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 31
Worst year2010ratio 3.06
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 46% · heat and drought 41% · price decline (revenue policies) 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202512350

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, 2000–2025160 of 1,357 weeks12% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202335 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202557 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.9 °F1991–2020 normal 64.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.08 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 87% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 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, 202233% of cropland55,208 ac
Farmed no-till, 202234% of cropland57,663 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland14,030 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202187535,62327,154

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

CRP enrolled, 202527,154 ac16.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20287,999 ac30% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$226/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202214,189+7.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202242%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Jefferson County$244$6,951167.2$2.99
Henry County$253$7,797175.0$1.70
Keokuk County$236$7,382175.4$1.69
Van Buren County$197$5,451152.7$4.29
Wapello County$247$6,657164.9$2.79
Washington County$286$9,552185.6$1.27
Median next door$247$7,382175.0$1.70

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. Jefferson 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/jefferson-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.