Farmland Atlas · county record

Benton County, Missouri

Benton County, MO: non-irrigated cash rent $75 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,020 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 141.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 29015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent, non-irrigated
$75/ac
2026 county average
MO median $117 · tied for 40th lowest of 109
Land and buildings
$4,020/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MO median $4,459 · 42nd lowest of 113
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 36% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, 2008–2022 median
141.3 bu/ac
10 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.95
2016–2025, closed crop years
MO median $6.71 · 30th highest of 96
Farmland rented
29%
2022 census, rented from others
MO median 32% · 45th lowest of 114

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$67$75 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$75/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+9.6%nominal, $68 to $75
Pasture, 2026$32/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,020/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,090/ac
Census 2017$2,737/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+46.9%+8.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 36% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022133.0152.0123.983.543.4111.0166.8170.1149.6153.4median 141.3

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

Median, 2008–2022141.3 bu/ac10 published years
Lowest published year2012: 43.4 bu/ac31% of median
Trend, 2008–2022+3.6 bu/ac a year±6.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620211.226.681.151.00: 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$8.95
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.63claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.85$28.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 15
Worst year2012ratio 6.68
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 68% · excess moisture 25% · price decline (revenue policies) 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020254310

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, 2000–2025107 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202331 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202535 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.8 °F1991–2020 normal 67.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.09 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September27.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% 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, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,342 ac
Farmed no-till, 202223% of cropland16,393 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland2,443 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211257,60583

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

CRP enrolled, 202583 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20287 ac
Cattle and calves, 202242,334−10.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Benton County$75$4,020—$8.95
Camden County$16$2,851——
Henry County$97$4,028—$9.53
Hickory County$58$3,566—$22.85
Morgan County$65$5,025136.2$10.54
Pettis County$149$4,906133.7$6.20
St. Clair County$109$3,962—$16.83
Median next door$81$3,995135.0 2 co.$10.54

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. Benton County, Missouri. 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/missouri/benton-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.