Farmland Atlas · county record

Kent County, Delaware

Kent County, DE: non-irrigated cash rent $119 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,679 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 174.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 10001. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Kent County is $119 per acre, up 33 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value in the 2022 census sits at $8,679 per acre, up 9.5 percent from 2017 to 2022. The July nightly low has warmed to 69.4 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 67.4 F. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 closed years is 0.28, below the full-period 1989-2025 ratio of 0.56.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$119/ac
2026 county average
DE median $106 · highest of 3
Cash rent, irrigated
$150/ac
2017 county average
too few 2017 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$8,679/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
DE median $9,642 · lowest of 3
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
174.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 187.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
DE median 165.1 · highest of 3
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.24
2016–2025, closed crop years
DE median $2.35 · lowest of 3
Farmland rented
52%
2022 census, rented from others
DE median 52% · 2nd lowest of 3

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$67$119 dry

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$119/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+33.0%nominal, $90 to $119
Irrigated, 2017$150/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,679/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,999/ac
Census 2017$7,923/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+9.5%+1.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 37% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024111.0200.4195.7median 174.6

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

Median, 2008–2025174.6 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025187.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 108.0 bu/ac62% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.8 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820231.072.200.201.00: 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$2.24
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.56$56.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 23
Worst year2007ratio 2.20
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 69% · excess moisture 20% · price decline (revenue policies) 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202503910

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, 2000–202579 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200239 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.4 °F1991–2020 normal 67.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.99 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202237%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland6,988 ac
Farmed no-till, 202254% of cropland84,350 ac
Cover crops, 202226% of cropland39,936 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202103,5831,317

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,317 ac0.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028152 ac12% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$163/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202536.7 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20225,299−26.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202252%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Kent County$119—$8,679174.6$2.24
New Castle County$102$225 2025$11,212159.8$2.35
Sussex County$106—$9,642165.1$3.66
Caroline County, MD$140$234$9,891157.1$4.05
Kent County, MD$191$282$7,782164.1$2.45
Queen Anne's County, MD$177$259$8,163162.2$2.33
Median next door$140$259$9,642162.2$2.45

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. Kent County, Delaware. 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/delaware/kent-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.