Farmland Atlas · county record

Prairie County, Arkansas

Prairie County, AR: non-irrigated cash rent $26 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,560 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 05117. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Prairie County averages $26 per acre in 2026, down 38.1 percent from 2014. Irrigated cash rent is $140 per acre, and the irrigated multiple has moved from 1.53 in 2009 to 5.38 in 2026, rising. Irrigation covers 85 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, with 62 percent of irrigation water drawn from groundwater in 2015. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $56.6 million, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 72 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities fell each period listed, from 30 percent in 1989-1999 to 14 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value sits at $3,560 per acre in 2022, up 21.9 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$26/ac
2026 county average
AR median $30 · tied for 20th lowest of 61
Cash rent, irrigated
$140/ac
2026 county average
AR median $158 · 3rd lowest of 27
Land and buildings
$3,560/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
AR median $3,631 · 36th lowest of 75
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
185.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 189.9 · irrigated and dryland combined
AR median 180.1 · 8th highest of 21
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.03
2016–2025, closed crop years
AR median $13.59 · 10th lowest of 41
Farmland rented
62%
2022 census, rented from others
AR median 29% · 20th highest of 75

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$73$26 dry$112$140 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$26/ac
Change 2014 to 2026−38.1%nominal, $42 to $26
Irrigated, 2026$140/ac
Pasture, 2026$18/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,560/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,501/ac
Census 2017$2,920/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+21.9%+4.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 85% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024169.0200.3median 185.6

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

Median, 2008–2025185.6 bu/ac17 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025189.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 158.8 bu/ac86% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.3 bu/ac a year±0.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.051.731.631.00: 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$9.03
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.27claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.08$56.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 17
Worst year2013ratio 1.73
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 72% · heat and drought 17% · wind 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202514200

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, 2000–202599 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201220 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202516 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202673.0 °F1991–2020 normal 72.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.34 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September23.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202285%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland16,265 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland2,343 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202169621,73611,025

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

CRP enrolled, 202511,025 ac5.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,079 ac28% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$78/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 20225,374+136.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202262%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Prairie County$26$140$3,560185.6$9.03
Arkansas County$98 2025$158$4,364188.9$4.04
Lonoke County$30$174$3,865186.2$10.71
Monroe County$80 2023$157$3,754169.6$15.24
White County$31$118$3,384—$30.68
Woodruff County$127$155$3,916165.7$15.87
Median next door$31$157$3,865177.9$15.24

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. Prairie 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/prairie-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.