Farmland Atlas · county record

Lyon County, Iowa

Lyon County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $284 an acre (2026); land and buildings $12,857 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 193.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19119. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lyon County averages $284 per acre for 2026, up 15 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $12,857 per acre in 2022, with that year's rent equal to 2.09 percent of value. Corn yields have a fitted trend of 1.1 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 193 bushels per acre and a worst year of 161.6 in 2012. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities was 6 percent in 1989-1999, 45 percent in 2000-2009, 29 percent in 2010-2019, and 50 percent in 2020-2025. Solar and wind capacity are both 0 MW, operating and proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$284/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 25th highest of 99
Cash rent, irrigated
$248/ac
2013 county average
too few 2013 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$12,857/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 3rd highest of 99
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
193.0 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 198.7
IA median 190.1 · 28th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.28
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 41st lowest of 99
Farmland rented
54%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 39th highest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$178$284 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$284/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+15.0%nominal, $247 to $284
Irrigated, 2013$248/ac
Pasture, 2026$61/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.43$284 ÷ 198.7 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$12,857/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,245/ac
Census 2017$9,988/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.7%+5.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.09%$269 ÷ $12,857; cropland 91% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024190.0218.9198.8median 193.0

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

Median, 2008–2024193.0 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024198.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 161.6 bu/ac84% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.1 bu/ac a year±1.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.313.330.101.00: 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$2.28
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.45claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.52$107.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 33
Worst year2014ratio 3.33
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 37% · excess moisture 26% · price decline (revenue policies) 25%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202520420

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, 2000–2025137 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201242 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202524 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.4 °F1991–2020 normal 61.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.24 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202247% of cropland132,708 ac
Farmed no-till, 202224% of cropland68,139 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland13,844 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021608,3463,443

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,443 ac1.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028644 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$252/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 2022176,388−8.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202254%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lyon County$284—$12,857193.0$2.28
Osceola County$283—$11,586192.7$2.85
Sioux County$336$355$13,341199.1$2.69
Nobles County, MN$244—$8,605180.0$4.67
Rock County, MN$277—$8,831181.4$3.59
Lincoln County, SD$244$261$8,445162.3$7.66
Minnehaha County, SD$221$241$8,346172.0$3.75
Median next door$261$261$8,718180.7$3.67

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. Lyon 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/lyon-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.