Farmland Atlas · county record

Van Buren County, Iowa

Van Buren County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $197 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,451 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 152.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19177. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Van Buren County runs $197 per acre in 2026, up 16.6 percent from 2016. Land is valued by operators at $5,451 per acre as of 2022, with a 16.6 percent gain from 2017 to 2022, 3.1 percent a year. Corn yield trend is 3.5 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2023, with a median of 152.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 90.8 in 2010. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has climbed across the decades listed: 19 percent in 1989-1999, 17 percent in 2000-2009, 50 percent in 2010-2019, 54 percent in 2020-2025. No cropland here is irrigated, and no solar or wind capacity is operating or proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$197/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · 7th lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$5,451/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 4th lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
3.08%
$168 dry rent ÷ $5,451 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
152.7 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 162.3
IA median 190.1 · 2nd lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.29
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 9th highest of 99
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 11th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$119$197 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$197/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+16.6%nominal, $169 to $197
Pasture, 2026$50/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.21$197 ÷ 162.3 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,451/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,475/ac
Census 2017$4,674/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+16.6%+3.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.08%$168 ÷ $5,451; cropland 64% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022146.0192.2189.3median 152.7

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

Median, 2008–2023152.7 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023162.3 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 90.8 bu/ac60% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+3.5 bu/ac a year±3.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.853.310.071.00: 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$4.29
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.44claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.86$90.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 27
Worst year2010ratio 3.31
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 47% · heat and drought 41% · price decline (revenue policies) 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202512280

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, 2000–2025153 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202328 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202534 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.7 °F1991–2020 normal 65.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.01 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 87% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 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, 202213% of cropland18,834 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland23,538 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland6,985 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,65136,12122,140

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

CRP enrolled, 202522,140 ac16.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20289,375 ac42% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$175/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202219,164−12.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Van Buren County$197$5,451152.7$4.29
Davis County$182$5,154152.5$5.02
Henry County$253$7,797175.0$1.70
Jefferson County$244$6,951167.2$2.99
Lee County$242$7,412173.7$2.04
Clark County, MO$157$4,859—$4.31
Scotland County, MO$175$5,438—$3.78
Median next door$212$6,195170.5$3.39

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. Van Buren 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/van-buren-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.