Farmland Atlas · county record

Independence County, Arkansas

Independence County, AR: non-irrigated cash rent $29 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,067 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 159.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 05063. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $28 per acre, down 25 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigated land rents at $143 per acre in 2023, and the irrigated multiple over non-irrigated rent has moved from 1.84 in 2009 to 4.21 in 2023, direction rising. Excess moisture and flood account for 81 percent of crop insurance indemnities paid out from 1989-2025, a total of $41.8 million, with a loss ratio of 1.05 over that span and 1.22 over 2016-2025. Heat and drought's share of indemnities was 21 percent in 1989-1999, 25 percent in 2000-2009, 10 percent in 2010-2019, and 13 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value sits at $3,067 per acre for 2022, up 33.4 percent from 2017 to 2022. Solar and wind capacity, operating or proposed, is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$29/ac
2026 county average
AR median $30 · tied for 27th lowest of 61
Cash rent, irrigated
$143/ac
2023 county average
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$3,067/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
AR median $3,631 · 17th lowest of 75
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
159.9 bu/ac
12 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$15.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
AR median $13.59 · 17th highest of 41
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
AR median 29% · 29th highest of 75

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$48$29 dry$88$143 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$29/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−25.0%nominal, $38 to $29
Irrigated, 2023$143/ac
Pasture, 2026$28/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,067/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,094/ac
Census 2017$2,299/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.4%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 44% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024156.0135.0130.0112.1160.3179.6161.1160.0159.9179.4142.9172.0median 159.9

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

Median, 2008–2025159.9 bu/ac12 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2011: 112.1 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.8 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820230.542.041.831.00: 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$15.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.22claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.05$42.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium9 of 18
Worst year2016ratio 2.04
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 81% · heat and drought 13% · freeze 2%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020259219

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, 2000–2025101 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201221 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.2 °F1991–2020 normal 69.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.20 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 112% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202244%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland4,160 ac
Farmed no-till, 202217% of cropland14,677 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland5,117 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021255,0733,662

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,662 ac4.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028924 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$71/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202249,636+18.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Independence County$29$143 2023$3,067—$15.09
Cleburne County$23—$3,631——
Izard County$28—$2,778——
Jackson County$114 2025$185$4,007168.9$24.25
Lawrence County$90$150$4,609—$16.05
Sharp County$25—$3,164——
Stone County$30—$2,891——
White County$31$118$3,384—$30.68
Median next door$29$150$3,384168.9 1 co.$24.25

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. Independence County, Arkansas. 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/arkansas/independence-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.