Shelby County, Alabama
Shelby County, AL: non-irrigated cash rent $42 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,118 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 107.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 01117. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Shelby County runs $42 per acre in 2026, down 9.8 percent from 2016. Irrigated ground rents at $70 per acre, but irrigation covers only 10 percent of harvested cropland, and none of that water came from groundwater as of 2015. July nights average 70.2 F over 2017-2026, above the 1991-2020 normal of 69.4 F, part of a warming trend of 0.42 F per decade since 1976. Heat and drought drove 52 percent of crop insurance indemnities across 1995-2025, with the share by period at 66 percent for 1989-1999, 49 percent for 2000-2009, 67 percent for 2010-2019, and 29 percent for 2020-2025. Census land value sits at $5,118 per acre for 2022, up 28.7 percent from 2017.
AL median $46 · tied for 26th lowest of 59
AL median $152 · lowest of 5
AL median $3,400 · 11th highest of 67
AL median $10.32 · 4th lowest of 53
AL median 26% · 18th highest of 67
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
Crop insurance record
Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1994. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County | $42 | $70 | $5,118 | $4.94 |
| Bibb County | $24 | — | $2,611 | — |
| Chilton County | $25 | — | $3,464 | $37.47 |
| Coosa County | — | — | $2,950 | — |
| Jefferson County | — | — | $6,943 | — |
| St. Clair County | $37 | — | $5,176 | — |
| Talladega County | $54 | $105 2024 | $3,914 | $4.43 |
| Median next door | $31 | — | $3,689 | $20.95 2 co. |
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. Shelby 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/shelby-countyEvery 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.