Farmland Atlas · county record

Tama County, Iowa

Tama County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $257 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,563 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 186.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19171. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Tama County is $257 per acre for 2026, up 3.2 percent from 2016. Census land value reached $9,563 per acre in 2022, up 31.8 percent from 2017, 5.7 percent a year, so rent runs 2.77 percent of land value. Wind operating capacity stands at 170.9 MW; solar operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$257/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 36th lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$9,563/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 43rd highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.77%
$265 dry rent ÷ $9,563 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
186.1 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 201.8
IA median 190.1 · 34th lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.00
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 15th highest of 99
Farmland rented
50%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 46th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$171$257 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$257/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+3.2%nominal, $249 to $257
Pasture, 2026$82/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,563/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,503/ac
Census 2017$7,256/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.8%+5.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.77%$265 ÷ $9,563; cropland 87% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022179.0224.3197.4median 186.1

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

Median, 2008–2023186.1 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023201.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2020: 132.7 bu/ac71% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+2.2 bu/ac a year±2.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920241.356.070.391.00: 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$4.00
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.73claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.73$182.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 35
Worst year2020ratio 6.07
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025wind 28% · heat and drought 24% · excess moisture 23%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020259240

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, 2000–2025112 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201224 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202557 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.0 °F1991–2020 normal 62.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.22 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 87% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.0 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, 202259% of cropland185,393 ac
Farmed no-till, 202245% of cropland140,281 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland18,127 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202165633,49416,957

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

CRP enrolled, 202516,957 ac5.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,018 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$242/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 170.9 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202231,502−23.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202250%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Tama County$257$9,563186.1$4.00
Benton County$303$10,970187.5$4.23
Black Hawk County$257$9,980192.9$3.58
Grundy County$322$12,121198.5$1.90
Marshall County$286$9,375203.1$3.73
Poweshiek County$278$8,752195.6$2.72
Median next door$286$9,980195.6$3.58

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. Tama 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/tama-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.

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