Farmland Atlas · county record

Pocahontas County, Iowa

Pocahontas County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $269 an acre (2026); land and buildings $11,081 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 190.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19151. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $269 per acre for 2026, up 17.5 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $11,081 per acre in 2022, with land value up 37.4 percent from 2017 to 2022, 6.6 percent a year. Corn yields trend up 2.2 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 190.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 163.8 in 2013. Wind power operates in the county at 366.4 MW; no irrigation is reported on cropland here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$269/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 45th highest of 99
Cash rent, irrigated
$232/ac
2020 county average
too few 2020 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$11,081/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 11th highest of 99
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
190.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 209.0
IA median 190.1 · tied for 47th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.83
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 22nd lowest of 99
Farmland rented
67%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · highest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$176$269 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$269/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+17.5%nominal, $229 to $269
Irrigated, 2020$232/ac
Pasture, 2026$51/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.29$269 ÷ 209.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$11,081/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,635/ac
Census 2017$8,064/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+37.4%+6.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.4%$266 ÷ $11,081; cropland 97% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024178.0218.1210.2median 190.1

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

Median, 2008–2025190.1 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025209.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2013: 163.8 bu/ac86% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.2 bu/ac a year±1.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.143.310.241.00: 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$1.83
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.37claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.56$133.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 35
Worst year2013ratio 3.31
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 42% · heat and drought 28% · price decline (revenue policies) 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202523420

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, 2000–2025196 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201242 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202569 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.8 °F1991–2020 normal 62.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.24 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 89% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 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, 202277% of cropland234,114 ac
Farmed no-till, 20229% of cropland27,180 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland10,008 ac
198619911996200120062011201620215510,5749,889

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,889 ac3.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,067 ac31% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$265/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 366.4 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202225,821+63.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202267%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Pocahontas County$269—$11,081190.1$1.83
Buena Vista County$260—$11,332190.7$1.82
Calhoun County$267—$10,686194.0$1.62
Humboldt County$262—$10,740192.9$2.35
Palo Alto County$282$279$9,830185.2$3.17
Webster County$275—$10,795194.2$1.54
Median next door$267$279 1 co.$10,740192.9$1.82

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. Pocahontas 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/pocahontas-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.