Farmland Atlas · county record

Washington County, Iowa

Washington County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $286 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,552 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19183. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Washington County, IA runs $286 per acre in 2026, up 19.2 percent from 2016. Census land value sits at $9,552 per acre in 2022, up 38.7 percent from 2017, 6.8 percent a year, and the 2022 rent-to-value ratio was 2.48 percent. Corn yield trend is 3.2 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, median 185.6 bushels per acre, with a worst year of 132.1 in 2012. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has moved 19 percent, 24 percent, 50 percent, 63 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 is 0.18, well under the 1989-2025 figure of 0.48. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with 0 MW proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$286/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 23rd highest of 99
Land and buildings
$9,552/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 44th highest of 99
Rent as % of land value
2.48%
$237 dry rent ÷ $9,552 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
185.6 bu/ac
16 published years
IA median 190.1 · tied for 32nd lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.27
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 4th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
43%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 25th lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$180$286 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$286/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.2%nominal, $240 to $286
Pasture, 2026$71/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,552/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,107/ac
Census 2017$6,889/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+38.7%+6.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.48%$237 ÷ $9,552; cropland 86% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024180.0220.4218.6median 185.6

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

Median, 2008–2025185.6 bu/ac16 published years
Lowest published year2012: 132.1 bu/ac71% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.2 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920241.820.121.00: 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$1.27
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.18claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.48$100.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 35
Worst year1989ratio 1.82
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 42% · excess moisture 34% · price decline (revenue policies) 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020259340

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, 2000–2025151 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202334 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202550 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.7 °F1991–2020 normal 63.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.04 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 86% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202252% of cropland134,574 ac
Farmed no-till, 202246% of cropland118,454 ac
Cover crops, 202215% of cropland37,955 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202151946,61733,636

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

CRP enrolled, 202533,636 ac13.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20286,325 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$226/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202215,531−24.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202243%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Washington County$286—$9,552185.6$1.27
Henry County$253—$7,797175.0$1.70
Iowa County$269—$7,674192.1$2.72
Jefferson County$244—$6,951167.2$2.99
Johnson County$277$297$10,307184.6$2.22
Keokuk County$236—$7,382175.4$1.69
Louisa County$242$263$7,815181.6$1.43
Median next door$249$280 2 co.$7,736178.5$1.96

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. Washington 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/washington-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.