Farmland Atlas · county record

Jones County, Iowa

Jones County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $279 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,299 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 190.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19105. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Jones County runs $279 per acre, up 13 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land and buildings carry a census value of $9,299 per acre, up 33.6 percent from 2017 to 2022, 6 percent a year. Corn yield trend is positive at 3.2 bushels per acre a year on 2008-2025, with a median of 190.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 127.3 in 2012. Heat and drought stand as the largest cause of indemnities over 1989-2025 at 49 percent, and its share by period runs 25 percent in 1989-1999, 17 percent in 2000-2009, 61 percent in 2010-2019, and 52 percent in 2020-2025. No irrigation is in use, and no solar or wind capacity is operating or proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$279/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 34th highest of 99
Land and buildings
$9,299/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 47th lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.8%
$260 dry rent ÷ $9,299 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
190.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 216.7
IA median 190.1 · tied for 47th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.27
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 24th highest of 99
Farmland rented
43%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 26th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$175$279 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$279/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+13.0%nominal, $247 to $279
Pasture, 2026$65/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.29$279 ÷ 216.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,299/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,699/ac
Census 2017$6,962/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.6%+6.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.8%$260 ÷ $9,299; cropland 82% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024167.0233.3215.1median 190.1

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

Median, 2008–2025190.1 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025216.7 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 127.3 bu/ac67% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.2 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.813.700.501.00: 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$3.27
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.61claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.79$134.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 32
Worst year2012ratio 3.70
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 49% · price decline (revenue policies) 18% · excess moisture 17%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020253250

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, 2000–202597 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201225 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202533 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.6 °F1991–2020 normal 62.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.22 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 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, 202262% of cropland161,727 ac
Farmed no-till, 202230% of cropland78,581 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland12,671 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202116318,64013,945

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

CRP enrolled, 202513,945 ac5.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,424 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$231/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202248,192−27.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202243%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Jones County$279$9,299190.1$3.27
Cedar County$297$10,621192.6$1.64
Clinton County$304$9,600196.6$1.71
Delaware County$298$10,164197.4$2.05
Dubuque County$303$10,692198.3$2.47
Jackson County$275$8,284189.2$2.08
Linn County$258$10,758189.2$4.10
Median next door$298$10,393194.6$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. Jones 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/jones-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.