Farmland Atlas · county record

Cole County, Missouri

Cole County, MO: non-irrigated cash rent $84 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,078 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 143.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 29051. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Land value in 2022 is $5,078 per acre, up 39.3 percent from 2017. Cropland here is 1 percent irrigated. Solar and wind operating capacity is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$84/ac
2026 county average
MO median $117 · 43rd lowest of 109
Land and buildings
$5,078/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MO median $4,459 · 35th highest of 113
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.57
$84 ÷ 146.2 bu, recent yield 2020–2024
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
143.7 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 146.2
MO median 148.2 · 14th lowest of 39
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.47
2016–2025, closed crop years
MO median $6.71 · 28th highest of 96
Farmland rented
26%
2022 census, rented from others
MO median 32% · 32nd lowest of 114

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$44$84 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$84/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+67.0%nominal, $50 to $84
Pasture, 2026$36/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.57$84 ÷ 146.2 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,078/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,913/ac
Census 2017$3,646/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+39.3%+6.9% 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

200820102012201420162018202020222024135.0178.3171.8median 143.7

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

Median, 2008–2024143.7 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024146.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 73.1 bu/ac51% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.4 bu/ac a year±2.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

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$9.47
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.70claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.81$10.4 million paid
Worst year2022ratio 0.29
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 62% · heat and drought 34% · other 2%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020255302

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, 2000–202576 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202330 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202540 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.4 °F1991–2020 normal 67.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.28 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.9 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, 20223% of cropland1,354 ac
Farmed no-till, 202218% of cropland9,226 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland3,428 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021181,436372

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

CRP enrolled, 2025372 ac0.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028129 ac35% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$86/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202232,257−33.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202226%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cole County$84—$5,078143.7$9.47
Boone County$143$179 2025$5,608136.3$6.18
Callaway County$131—$4,653—$6.50
Miller County$55—$3,272130.6$12.49
Moniteau County$85—$4,680—$8.27
Osage County$69—$3,470143.9$8.69
Median next door$85—$4,653136.3$8.27

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. Cole 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/cole-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.