Farmland Atlas · county record

Columbia County, Washington

Columbia County, WA: non-irrigated cash rent $110 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,280 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 53013. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Columbia County averages $110 per acre for 2026, up 279.3 percent from 2014. Land value in the 2022 census was $2,280 per acre, up 40 percent from 2017, 7 percent a year. Heat and drought caused 71 percent of $97.5 million in crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, and that share rose across 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025, at 30 percent, 69 percent, and 81 percent. Weeks in severe drought or worse ran 86 over 2021-2025, against 179 of 1357 weeks for the full 2000-2025 span. Wind operating capacity stands at 657.4 MW, with no solar and no new capacity proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$110/ac
2026 county average
WA median $64 · 5th highest of 22
Land and buildings
$2,280/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WA median $5,067 · 7th lowest of 34
Rent as % of land value
3.51%
$80 dry rent ÷ $2,280 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$13.19
2016–2025, closed crop years
WA median $8.03 · 3rd highest of 21
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
WA median 34% · 9th highest of 34

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120201520202025$60$110 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$110/ac
Change 2014 to 2026+279.3%nominal, $29 to $110
Pasture, 2024$15/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,280/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,076/ac
Census 2017$1,628/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+40.0%+7.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.51%$80 ÷ $2,280; cropland 66% of land in farms

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

20062011201620210.315.791.731.00: 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$13.19
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.63claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.37$97.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 20
Worst year2021ratio 5.79
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 71% · price decline (revenue policies) 21% · freeze 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504225

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, 2000–2025179 of 1,357 weeks13% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200542 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202586 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202656.0 °F1991–2020 normal 53.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.92 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September8.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 86% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20222%
Farmed no-till, 202238% of cropland74,473 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202193654,88622,072

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

CRP enrolled, 202522,072 ac13.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20288,396 ac38% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$73/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 657.4 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20223,903−1.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Columbia County$110—$2,280$13.19
Umatilla County, OR$79 2025$478$2,437$7.50
Wallowa County, OR$52$109$1,654$15.65
Franklin County$34$553 2025$5,182$5.54
Garfield County$71—$1,814$8.66
Walla Walla County$74 2025$297$3,786$7.58
Whitman County$79—$2,528$12.08
Median next door$61$297$2,483$8.12

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. Columbia County, Washington. 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/washington/columbia-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.