Farmland Atlas · county record

Scott County, Missouri

Scott County, MO: non-irrigated cash rent $176 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,405 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 174.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 29201. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Scott County averages $176 per acre in 2026, up 0.6 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $260 per acre, a multiple of 1.48 over non-irrigated, compared with 1.27 in 2009; the direction of that multiple shows no clear direction. Irrigation covers 59 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, drawn entirely from groundwater as of 2015. Crop insurance history shows excess moisture and flood as the largest cause of indemnities at 60 percent of $61.5 million paid out from 1989-2025, with the loss ratio rising to 0.79 over 2016-2025 from 0.63 over the full period. Census land value reached $6,405 per acre in 2022, up 25.9 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$176/ac
2026 county average
MO median $117 · tied for 15th highest of 109
Cash rent, irrigated
$260/ac
2026 county average
MO median $227 · highest of 5
Land and buildings
$6,405/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MO median $4,459 · 10th highest of 113
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
174.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 183.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.68
2016–2025, closed crop years
MO median $6.71 · 31st lowest of 96
Farmland rented
68%
2022 census, rented from others
MO median 32% · 5th highest of 114

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$100$176 dry$136$260 irrigated

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$176/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+0.6%nominal, $175 to $176
Irrigated, 2026$260/ac
Pasture, 2023$48/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,405/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,077/ac
Census 2017$5,087/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+25.9%+4.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 59% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024170.0195.5median 174.2

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

Median, 2008–2024174.2 bu/ac13 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2020–2024183.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 139.2 bu/ac80% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.9 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.231.221.00: 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$5.68
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.79claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.63$61.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 23
Worst year2025ratio 1.22
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 60% · heat and drought 29% · other 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250232

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, 2000–202571 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201223 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202523 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.2 °F1991–2020 normal 69.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.35 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202259%
Farmed no-till, 202222% of cropland42,362 ac
Cover crops, 202219% of cropland36,029 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211068,3307,022

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

CRP enrolled, 20257,022 ac3.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,998 ac43% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$178/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025200 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,060−44.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202268%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Scott County$176$260$6,405—$5.68
Alexander County, IL$189 2025$200 2024$5,148—$12.07
Cape Girardeau County$117$257 2025$4,745155.8$6.85
Mississippi County$183$251$6,746180.7$5.96
New Madrid County$161$227$6,704171.9$6.72
Stoddard County$113$208$6,814172.5$6.69
Median next door$139$227$6,704172.2$6.72

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. Scott 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/scott-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.