Farmland Atlas · county record

Lawrence County, Alabama

Lawrence County, AL: non-irrigated cash rent $113 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,865 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 157.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 01079. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lawrence County runs $113 per acre in 2026, up 11.9 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $152 per acre, and the irrigated multiple has moved without clear direction, 1.43 in 2009 to 1.35 in 2026. Only 5 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, so most ground here depends on rain. Heat and drought's share of indemnities has swung across periods, 32 percent in 1989-1999, 10 percent in 2000-2009, 67 percent in 2010-2019, and 54 percent in 2020-2025, with 152 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse since 2000. Census land value sits at $4,865 per acre, up 28.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, and 393 MW of solar has been proposed to EIA against none operating now.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$113/ac
2026 county average
AL median $46 · 2nd highest of 59
Cash rent, irrigated
$152/ac
2026 county average
AL median $152 · 3rd lowest of 5
Land and buildings
$4,865/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
AL median $3,400 · 15th highest of 67
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
157.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 153.9
AL median 142.4 · 5th highest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.42
2016–2025, closed crop years
AL median $10.32 · 23rd lowest of 53
Farmland rented
51%
2022 census, rented from others
AL median 26% · 3rd highest of 67

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$73$113 dry$100$152 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$113/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+11.9%nominal, $101 to $113
Irrigated, 2026$152/ac
Pasture, 2026$31/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.73$113 ÷ 153.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,865/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,059/ac
Census 2017$3,796/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.2%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.16%$105 ÷ $4,865; cropland 61% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202498.0204.0177.7median 157.2

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

Median, 2008–2025157.2 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025153.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 78.6 bu/ac50% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.6 bu/ac a year±3.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1999200420092014201920241.413.641.141.00: 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$9.42
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.92claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.94$86.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 27
Worst year2007ratio 3.64
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025area plans 45% · heat and drought 36% · excess moisture 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202526405

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, 2000–2025152 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200740 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202532 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.8 °F1991–2020 normal 68.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.43 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20225%
Farmed no-till, 202255% of cropland69,343 ac
Cover crops, 202214% of cropland17,320 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202190226,6064,928

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,928 ac4.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,050 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$77/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202226,753−14.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202251%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lawrence County$113$152$4,865157.2$9.42
Colbert County$105—$3,528157.5$9.81
Cullman County$48—$5,356157.5$6.36
Franklin County$73—$3,526—$16.96
Lauderdale County$79—$5,183155.1$7.71
Limestone County$139$151 2023$4,683159.8$6.78
Morgan County$65—$6,130—$10.43
Winston County$27—$3,005——
Median next door$73—$4,683157.5$8.76

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. Lawrence County, Alabama. 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/alabama/lawrence-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.