Farmland Atlas · county record

Decatur County, Georgia

Decatur County, GA: non-irrigated cash rent $117 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,951 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 192.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 13087. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Decatur County averages $117 per acre in 2026, up 48.1 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs $266 per acre, and 60 percent of harvested cropland was irrigated as of the 2022 census, drawn 98 percent from groundwater as of 2015. The irrigated premium over non-irrigated rent has moved from 3.27 in 2009 to 2.27 in 2026, direction falling. Corn yields trend up 2.8 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, median 192.6 bushels per acre, with 2008 the worst year at 154.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$117/ac
2026 county average
GA median $58 · 7th highest of 103
Cash rent, irrigated
$266/ac
2026 county average
GA median $231 · 8th highest of 39
Land and buildings
$3,951/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
GA median $4,057 · 60th lowest of 135
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
192.6 bu/ac
13 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.44
2016–2025, closed crop years
GA median $13.24 · 36th lowest of 85
Farmland rented
30%
2022 census, rented from others
GA median 24% · 37th highest of 138

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$54$117 dry$175$266 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$117/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+48.1%nominal, $79 to $117
Irrigated, 2026$266/ac
Pasture, 2023$53/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,951/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,780/ac
Census 2017$3,260/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+21.2%+3.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 60% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024154.0216.2199.3median 192.6

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

Median, 2008–2024192.6 bu/ac13 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2008: 154.0 bu/ac80% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+2.8 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.874.480.631.00: 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$12.44
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.19claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.04$155.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 31
Worst year2018ratio 4.48
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 35% · wind 22% · excess moisture 20%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020254315

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, 2000–2025230 of 1,357 weeks17% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200043 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202529 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.3 °F1991–2020 normal 71.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.42 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202260%
Farmed no-till, 202220% of cropland22,231 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland7,503 ac
198619911996200120062011201620213089,2832,307

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,307 ac2.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202815 ac1% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$95/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025517 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202217,555+36.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202230%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Decatur County$117$266$3,951—$12.44
Gadsden County, FL——$4,409—$14.23
Baker County$106$271$3,716191.1$16.56
Grady County$113$303$3,955149.6$8.85
Miller County$96$259$3,973198.8$15.11
Mitchell County$112$260$4,002—$11.52
Seminole County$108$274$3,993206.1$13.24
Median next door$108$271$3,983195.0$13.74

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. Decatur County, Georgia. 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/georgia/decatur-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.