Palo Alto County, Iowa
Palo Alto County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $282 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,830 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19147. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Palo Alto County runs $282 per acre in 2026, up 21 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent sits close by at $279 per acre. Corn yields have trended up 1.6 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 185.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 157.9 in 2018. Crop insurance history over 1989-2025 shows excess moisture and flood as the largest cause of indemnities, at 54 percent, well ahead of heat and drought, which ranged from 2 percent in 1989-1999 to 26 percent in 2000-2009, 11 percent in 2010-2019, and 24 percent in 2020-2025. Wind capacity stands at 361 MW operating, with no solar and no proposed wind or solar capacity listed.
IA median $266 · tied for 30th highest of 99
IA median $279 · 5th lowest of 9
IA median $9,410 · 38th highest of 99
IA median 190.1 · 31st lowest of 95
IA median $2.49 · 26th highest of 99
IA median 51% · 10th highest of 99
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto County | $282 | $279 | $9,830 | 185.2 | $3.17 |
| Clay County | $248 | — | $10,321 | 184.8 | $3.55 |
| Emmet County | $239 | — | $9,410 | 183.1 | $3.84 |
| Kossuth County | $282 | — | $10,771 | 190.7 | $2.78 |
| Pocahontas County | $269 | — | $11,081 | 190.1 | $1.83 |
| Median next door | $259 | — | $10,546 | 187.5 | $3.17 |
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. Palo Alto 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/palo-alto-countyEvery 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.