Farmland Atlas · county record

Madison County, Alabama

Madison County, AL: non-irrigated cash rent $113 an acre (2025); land and buildings $6,510 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 158.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 01089. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Madison County averages $113 per acre in 2025, up 69.9 percent from 2014. Irrigated land rented for $131 per acre in 2024, and 14 percent of harvested cropland carries irrigation, with 75 percent of that water drawn from groundwater as of 2015. Heat and drought account for 52 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, and that share has moved from 18 percent in 1989-1999 to 58 percent in 2000-2009 to 68 percent in 2010-2019 to 66 percent in 2020-2025. July nightly lows average 70.2 F over 2017-2026, up from the 68.6 F normal for 1991-2020, consistent with a warming trend of 0.65 F per decade since 1976. Census-reported land value stands at $6,510 per acre, up 22.7 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$113/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$131/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,510/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
AL median $3,400 · 2nd highest of 67
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
158.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 174.6 · irrigated and dryland combined
AL median 142.4 · 2nd highest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.49
2016–2025, closed crop years
AL median $10.32 · 6th lowest of 53
Farmland rented
56%
2022 census, rented from others
AL median 26% · 2nd highest of 67

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$53$113 dry$97$131 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, 2025$113/ac
Change 2014 to 2025+69.9%nominal, $67 to $113
Irrigated, 2024$131/ac
Pasture, 2026$26/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,510/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,715/ac
Census 2017$5,306/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+22.7%+4.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 14% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024153.0201.2181.0median 158.7

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

Median, 2008–2025158.7 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025174.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 110.6 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.3 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1998200320082013201820230.612.501.021.00: 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$5.49
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.64claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.63$60.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 28
Worst year2024ratio 2.50
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 52% · excess moisture 16% · freeze 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202527420

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, 2000–2025159 of 1,357 weeks12% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200742 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202525 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.2 °F1991–2020 normal 68.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.65 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202214%
Drained by tile, 202210% of cropland14,005 ac
Farmed no-till, 202258% of cropland80,191 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland5,196 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021642,785366

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

CRP enrolled, 2025366 ac0.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028119 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$99/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202542.4 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202213,134−17.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202256%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Madison County$113 2025$131 2024$6,510158.7$5.49
Jackson County$62—$3,511124.8$8.34
Limestone County$139$151 2023$4,683159.8$6.78
Marshall County$40—$5,745—$6.74
Morgan County$65—$6,130—$10.43
Franklin County, TN$173—$5,951172.3$5.57
Lincoln County, TN$155—$5,222166.2$4.51
Median next door$102—$5,484163.0$6.76

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. Madison 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/madison-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.