Farmland Atlas · county record

Hempstead County, Arkansas

Hempstead County, AR: non-irrigated cash rent $30 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,902 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 05057. Figures as of 2026-10-06.

Cash rent, non-irrigated

$30/ac

2026 county average
AR median $30 · tied for 30th highest of 61

Land and buildings

$2,902/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
AR median $3,631 · tied for 11th lowest of 75

Rent as % of land value

n/a

not shown: cropland is 26% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

n/a

fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

n/a

under the premium floor for a figure

Farmland rented

23%

2022 census, rented from others
AR median 29% · 21st lowest of 75

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet Arkansas cash rent by county ARC or PLC for 2026 and 2027

Non-irrigated ground in Hempstead County rents for $30 per acre, up 50 percent from 2016 to 2026. Only 3 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, so this land depends on rainfall and summer heat patterns. July nights have averaged 71.8 F over 2017-2026, against a 70.8 F normal for 1991-2020, and the trend since 1976 is 0.6 F per decade, warming. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnitieswas 2 percent in 1989-1999 and 13 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks in severe or worse conditions ran 138 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 14 of those weeks in 2021-2025.

Cash rent

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published Arkansas county rate, side by side: Arkansas cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$30/ac

Change 2016 to 2026+50.0%nominal, $20 to $30

Pasture, 2026$27/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,902/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$2,047/ac

Census 2017$2,504/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+15.9%+3.0% a year, nominal

Dry rent ÷ census valueCropland is 26% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yieldFewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

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.

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2024other 59% · excess moisture 31% · heat and drought 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

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, 2000–2025138 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks201132 weeks

Last five years, 2021–202514 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.8 °F1991–2020 normal 70.8 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.60 °F a decadewarming

Rain, April to September26.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 120% 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, 20223%

Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland184 ac

Farmed no-till, 20223% of cropland1,905 ac

Cover crops, 20222% of cropland979 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 2025302 ac0.6% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2027–2029228 ac76% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$20/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Cattle and calves, 202264,180+20.8% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202223%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Irr. rent	Land value	Claims per $100
Hempstead County	$30	n/a	$2,902	n/a
Howard County	$32	n/a	$4,175	n/a
Lafayette County	$58 2025	$174	$2,940	$18.64
Little River County	$28	n/a	$2,717	$27.45
Miller County	$32	n/a	$3,500	$39.67
Nevada County	$19	n/a	$2,507	n/a
Pike County	$38	n/a	$3,015	n/a
Median next door	$32	$174 1 co.	$2,978	$27.45

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. Hempstead County, Arkansas. Figures as of 2026-10-06, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/arkansas/hempstead-county

Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

← Greene CountyAll Arkansas countiesHot Spring County →