Howard County, Missouri
Howard County, MO: non-irrigated cash rent $142 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,853 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 135.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 29089. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Howard County runs $142 per acre, up 17.4 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigated ground rents at $243 per acre for 2025, and all of the county's irrigation water comes from groundwater as of 2015. Crop insurance history shows $37.1 million in indemnities from 1989-2025, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 60 percent, but heat and drought's share has climbed each period: 17 percent in 1989-1999, 26 percent in 2000-2009, 35 percent in 2010-2019, 38 percent in 2020-2025. The loss ratio for 2016-2025 stands at 0.69, matching the 1989-2025 figure of 0.69. Census land value reached $3,853 per acre in 2022, up 27.5 percent from 2017.
MO median $117 · tied for 43rd highest of 109
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
MO median $4,459 · 32nd lowest of 113
MO median $6.71 · tied for 38th lowest of 96
MO median 32% · 42nd lowest of 114
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County | $142 | $243 2025 | $3,853 | — | $6.18 |
| Boone County | $143 | $179 2025 | $5,608 | 136.3 | $6.18 |
| Chariton County | $156 | — | $4,955 | — | $5.98 |
| Cooper County | $144 | — | $5,376 | — | $8.07 |
| Randolph County | $144 | — | $4,578 | 151.7 | $4.07 |
| Saline County | $196 | — | $6,325 | 170.3 | $2.43 |
| Median next door | $144 | — | $5,376 | 151.7 | $5.98 |
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. Howard 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/howard-countyEvery 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.