Farmland Atlas · county record

Shelby County, Iowa

Shelby County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $270 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,443 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 190.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19165. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Shelby County stands at $270 per acre for 2026, up 13 percent from 2016. Land value in the 2022 census was $9,443 per acre, up 37.8 percent from 2017, a pace of 6.6 percent a year; cash rent runs at 2.77 percent of land value. No irrigation is present on any harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, and no solar or wind generation is operating or proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$270/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 43rd highest of 99
Land and buildings
$9,443/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 49th highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.77%
$262 dry rent ÷ $9,443 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
190.5 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 202.5
IA median 190.1 · 45th highest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.91
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · tied for 33rd highest of 99
Farmland rented
54%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 37th highest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$166$270 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$270/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+13.0%nominal, $239 to $270
Pasture, 2024$70/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.33$270 ÷ 202.5 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,443/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,772/ac
Census 2017$6,853/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+37.8%+6.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.77%$262 ÷ $9,443; cropland 94% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022190.0217.3196.0median 190.5

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

Median, 2008–2023190.5 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023202.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 137.8 bu/ac72% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+2.0 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.102.490.541.00: 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$2.91
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.55claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.57$141.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 35
Worst year2023ratio 2.49
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 47% · price decline (revenue policies) 28% · excess moisture 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025420

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, 2000–2025149 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200042 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202532 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.4 °F1991–2020 normal 63.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.09 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 89% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 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, 202222% of cropland69,693 ac
Farmed no-till, 202275% of cropland239,365 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland9,143 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202162513,03712,067

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

CRP enrolled, 202512,067 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20287,879 ac65% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$304/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202241,088+4.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202254%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Shelby County$270—$9,443190.5$2.91
Audubon County$302—$9,544190.1$2.05
Cass County$259—$8,221179.2$1.65
Crawford County$281—$9,476199.3$3.24
Harrison County$255$273$8,414177.1$4.28
Pottawattamie County$255—$8,718192.4$2.94
Median next door$259$273 1 co.$8,718190.1$2.94

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. Shelby 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/shelby-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.