Farmland Atlas · county record

Louisa County, Iowa

Louisa County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $242 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,815 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 181.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19115. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Louisa County runs $242 per acre in 2026, up 7.6 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings stood at $7,815 per acre in 2022, with land value up 17.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, 3.3 percent a year. Crop insurance history shows $66.0 million in indemnities across 1989-2025, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 45 percent. Heat and drought's share of those payouts has moved 27 percent, 21 percent, 41 percent, 45 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 was 0.21, and weeks in severe drought or worse ran 30 from 2021-2025 against 123 of 1357 since 2000.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$242/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 22nd lowest of 99
Cash rent, irrigated
$263/ac
2026 county average
IA median $279 · 2nd lowest of 9
Land and buildings
$7,815/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 27th lowest of 99
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
181.6 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 192.9
IA median 190.1 · tied for 23rd lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.43
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 8th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 34th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$162$242 dry$210$263 irrigated

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$242/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+7.6%nominal, $225 to $242
Irrigated, 2026$263/ac
Pasture, 2026$64/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.25$242 ÷ 192.9 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,815/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,743/ac
Census 2017$6,631/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+17.9%+3.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.93%$229 ÷ $7,815; cropland 85% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024174.0216.6214.5median 181.6

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

Median, 2008–2024181.6 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024192.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 125.1 bu/ac69% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+3.6 bu/ac a year±2.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19941999200420092014201920240.081.630.141.00: 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$1.43
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.21claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.49$66.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 32
Worst year2010ratio 1.63
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 45% · heat and drought 34% · other 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020253280

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, 2000–2025123 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202328 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202530 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.6 °F1991–2020 normal 64.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.13 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% 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, 20229%
Drained by tile, 202242% of cropland66,836 ac
Farmed no-till, 202235% of cropland55,627 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland11,152 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202199919,95913,411

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

CRP enrolled, 202513,411 ac8.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,298 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$227/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025100 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,262−24.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Louisa County$242$263$7,815181.6$1.43
Des Moines County$253$251 2023$7,802190.2$1.48
Henry County$253—$7,797175.0$1.70
Johnson County$277$297$10,307184.6$2.22
Muscatine County$288$272$9,311182.9$1.23
Washington County$286—$9,552185.6$1.27
Mercer County, IL$273—$9,250192.0$1.15
Median next door$275$285 2 co.$9,281185.1$1.38

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. Louisa 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/louisa-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.