Farmland Atlas · county record

O'Brien County, Iowa

O'Brien County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $310 an acre (2026); land and buildings $13,843 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 200.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19141. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in O'Brien County runs $310 per acre for 2026, up 28.6 percent from 2016. The census put land and buildings at $13,843 per acre in 2022, after a 42.3 percent rise from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields trended up 1.6 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 200.3 bushels per acre and a worst year of 159.8 in 2012. Crop insurance history over 1989-2025 shows excess moisture and flood as the largest cause of indemnities at 32 percent, with heat and drought's share moving from 1 percent in 1989-1999 to 23 percent in 2000-2009, 15 percent in 2010-2019, and 27 percent in 2020-2025. Wind capacity operating in the county stands at 752.3 MW; solar operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$310/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 3rd highest of 99
Land and buildings
$13,843/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.07%
$286 dry rent ÷ $13,843 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
200.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 209.1
IA median 190.1 · 4th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.85
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 23rd lowest of 99
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 22nd highest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$3502010201520202025$178$310 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$310/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+28.6%nominal, $241 to $310
Pasture, 2026$60/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.48$310 ÷ 209.1 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$13,843/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,538/ac
Census 2017$9,727/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+42.3%+7.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.07%$286 ÷ $13,843; cropland 94% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024195.0220.1median 200.3

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

Median, 2008–2025200.3 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025209.1 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 159.8 bu/ac80% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.6 bu/ac a year±1.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.072.500.411.00: 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$1.85
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.40claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.45$87.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 31
Worst year2014ratio 2.50
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 32% · price decline (revenue policies) 30% · heat and drought 19%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202522410

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, 2000–2025170 of 1,357 weeks13% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201241 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202563 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.6 °F1991–2020 normal 61.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.24 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.9 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, 202268% of cropland172,009 ac
Farmed no-till, 202219% of cropland47,608 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland3,941 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021276,1765,877

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,877 ac2.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,352 ac23% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$296/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 752.3 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202259,079−12.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
O'Brien County$310—$13,843200.3$1.85
Cherokee County$301—$11,186201.9$2.04
Clay County$248—$10,321184.8$3.55
Osceola County$283—$11,586192.7$2.85
Sioux County$336$355$13,341199.1$2.69
Median next door$292$355 1 co.$11,386195.9$2.77

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. O'Brien 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/obrien-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.