Farmland Atlas · county record

Monroe County, Iowa

Monroe County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $174 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,613 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 162.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19135. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Monroe County runs $174 per acre in 2026, up 4.8 percent from 2016. Land value, per the operators' own estimate, stood at $5,613 per acre in 2022, up 33.5 percent from 2017, or 5.9 percent a year. Corn yields trend up 4.4 bushels per acre a year across 2008-2025, with a median of 162.3 bushels per acre and a low of 67.3 in 2012. Crop insurance shows the shift: heat and drought made up 7 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999, 14 percent in 2000-2009, 51 percent in 2010-2019, and 61 percent in 2020-2025, while flood and excess moisture still lead over the full 1989-2025 record at 51 percent. No cropland here is irrigated, and no solar or wind capacity is operating or proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$174/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 4th lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$5,613/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 5th lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
3.14%
$176 dry rent ÷ $5,613 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
162.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 177.9
IA median 190.1 · 8th lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.10
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 3rd highest of 99
Farmland rented
30%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 6th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$145$174 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$174/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+4.8%nominal, $166 to $174
Pasture, 2026$68/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.98$174 ÷ 177.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,613/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,171/ac
Census 2017$4,206/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.5%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.14%$176 ÷ $5,613; cropland 57% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024136.0191.7186.4median 162.3

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

Median, 2008–2025162.3 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025177.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 67.3 bu/ac42% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.4 bu/ac a year±2.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620213.980.201.00: 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$5.10
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.39claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.00$82.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 25
Worst year2001ratio 3.98
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 51% · heat and drought 39% · freeze 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202517290

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, 2000–2025186 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202329 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202552 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.2 °F1991–2020 normal 64.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.08 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 83% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202215% of cropland17,430 ac
Farmed no-till, 202224% of cropland26,646 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland5,871 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,01129,65328,180

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

CRP enrolled, 202528,180 ac25.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20289,979 ac35% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$199/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202223,990−26.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202230%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Monroe County$174$5,613162.3$5.10
Appanoose County$173$4,927153.0$5.03
Lucas County$176$5,715—$4.39
Mahaska County$244$7,959188.1$1.30
Marion County$230$7,647175.2$1.42
Wapello County$247$6,657164.9$2.79
Median next door$230$6,657170.1$2.79

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. Monroe 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/monroe-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.