Farmland Atlas · county record

Union County, Ohio

Union County, OH: non-irrigated cash rent $194 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,151 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 179.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 39159. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Union County runs $194 per acre, up 14.8 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $8,151 per acre, up 28.4 percent from 2017 to 2022, 5.1 percent a year. Corn yields trend up 2.1 bushels per acre a year on the 2008-2025 record, with a median of 179.8 bushels per acre and a worst year of 132 in 2008. No cropland in the county is irrigated. Solar development is active, with 325 MW operating and 240 MW proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$194/ac
2026 county average
OH median $168 · 25th highest of 76
Land and buildings
$8,151/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
OH median $7,956 · 41st highest of 87
Rent as % of land value
2.15%
$175 dry rent ÷ $8,151 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
179.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 190.0
OH median 169.9 · 8th highest of 69
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.25
2016–2025, closed crop years
OH median $4.69 · 34th lowest of 83
Farmland rented
44%
2022 census, rented from others
OH median 37% · 39th highest of 87

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$97$194 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$194/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+14.8%nominal, $169 to $194
Pasture, 2025$42/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.02$194 ÷ 190.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,151/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,136/ac
Census 2017$6,350/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.4%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.15%$175 ÷ $8,151; cropland 89% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024132.0205.0187.8median 179.8

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

Median, 2008–2025179.8 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025190.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 132.0 bu/ac73% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.1 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620210.232.900.831.00: 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$4.25
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.68$77.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 25
Worst year2019ratio 2.90
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 44% · heat and drought 29% · price decline (revenue policies) 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025051

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, 2000–20256 of 1,357 weeks0% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks20245 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20256 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.4 °F1991–2020 normal 63.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.37 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September23.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 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, 202261% of cropland117,621 ac
Farmed no-till, 202243% of cropland83,475 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland10,944 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202132313,5077,334

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

CRP enrolled, 20257,334 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,252 ac17% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$307/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record138Ohio DNR water well logs
Median well depth140 ft
Solar and wind operating, 2025325 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202210,494−8.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202244%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Union County$194$8,151179.8$4.25
Champaign County$217$9,173180.6$2.62
Delaware County$190$9,771173.1$3.89
Franklin County$218$11,462—$4.52
Hardin County$250$9,197166.8$4.87
Logan County$202$8,497168.3$5.03
Madison County$237$9,260175.6$3.56
Marion County$195$8,262174.4$3.81
Median next door$217$9,197173.8$3.89

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. Union County, Ohio. 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/ohio/union-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.