Farmland Atlas · county record

Knox County, Missouri

Knox County, MO: non-irrigated cash rent $173 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,706 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 156.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 29103. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Knox County runs $173 per acre, up 36.2 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value carries $4,706 per acre by the operators' own 2022 estimate, up 54.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, and rent sits at 3.42 percent of that value. Crop insurance shows a loss ratio of 0.93 across 1989-2025, with 10 of 27 years paying out more than premium; heat and drought is the largest cause of indemnities at 56 percent, and its share has moved 39 percent, 27 percent, 63 percent, 67 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. No cropland here is irrigated, per the 2022 census. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with none proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$173/ac
2026 county average
MO median $117 · 21st highest of 109
Land and buildings
$4,706/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MO median $4,459 · 47th highest of 113
Rent as % of land value
3.42%
$161 dry rent ÷ $4,706 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
156.0 bu/ac
11 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.16
2016–2025, closed crop years
MO median $6.71 · 28th lowest of 96
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
MO median 32% · 54th lowest of 114

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$88$173 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$173/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+36.2%nominal, $127 to $173
Pasture, 2026$60/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,706/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,981/ac
Census 2017$3,042/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+54.7%+9.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.42%$161 ÷ $4,706; cropland 70% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022136.0156.098.040.6194.5166.4165.6125.6167.8171.3130.9median 156.0

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

Median, 2008–2023156.0 bu/ac11 published years
Lowest published year2012: 40.6 bu/ac26% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+2.6 bu/ac a year±5.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1999200420092014201920243.135.380.111.00: 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$5.16
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.40claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.93$149.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium10 of 27
Worst year2012ratio 5.38
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 56% · excess moisture 37% · price decline (revenue policies) 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202512310

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, 2000–202594 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202331 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202532 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.4 °F1991–2020 normal 65.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.08 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 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, 20227% of cropland10,745 ac
Farmed no-till, 202235% of cropland54,197 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland13,624 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,37749,40716,649

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

CRP enrolled, 202516,649 ac11.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,380 ac20% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$148/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202236,097+4.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Knox County$173$4,706—$5.16
Adair County$121$4,098—$3.57
Clark County$157$4,859—$4.31
Lewis County$176$4,861144.3$4.74
Macon County$135$4,026—$4.37
Scotland County$175$5,438—$3.78
Shelby County$177$6,127—$3.43
Median next door$166$4,860144.3 1 co.$4.05

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. Knox 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/knox-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.