Farmland Atlas · county record

Elbert County, Georgia

Elbert County, GA: non-irrigated cash rent $37 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,492 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 13105. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Elbert County averages $36 per acre for 2026, up 62.2 percent from 2016. Land value sits at $4,492 per acre, up 14.4 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 2.7 percent a year. Heat and drought stands as the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities from 1994-2025, at 66 percent of $535,081 paid, and its share moved from 86 percent in 1989-1999 to 22 percent in 2010-2019 to 79 percent in 2020-2025. The July nightly low has warmed 0.6 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average of 70.9 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 69.3 F. Severe drought or worse covered at least 50 percent of the county for 320 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 16 weeks from 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$37/ac
2026 county average
GA median $58 · 28th lowest of 103
Land and buildings
$4,492/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
GA median $4,057 · 55th highest of 135
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: about 14% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
21%
2022 census, rented from others
GA median 24% · 60th lowest of 138

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$21$37 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$37/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+62.2%nominal, $23 to $37
Pasture, 2026$23/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,492/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,537/ac
Census 2017$3,925/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+14.4%+2.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 14% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer 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.

Loss ratio, 1989–20250.52$535,081 paid
Largest causes of loss, 1994–2025heat and drought 66% · area plans 21% · excess moisture 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202531530

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, 2000–2025320 of 1,357 weeks24% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200853 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202516 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.9 °F1991–2020 normal 69.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.60 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September23.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% 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, 202214%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland40 ac
Farmed no-till, 202218% of cropland4,082 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland852 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202102,20366

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

CRP enrolled, 202566 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–202825 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202540 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20229,269−17.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202221%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Elbert County$37$4,492—
Hart County$40$7,267$13.90
Lincoln County$23$3,791—
Madison County$36$7,085—
Oglethorpe County$34$5,655—
Wilkes County$24$3,614—
Abbeville County, SC$21$4,079—
Anderson County, SC$24$7,011$26.42
McCormick County, SC—$3,216—
Median next door$24$4,867$20.16 2 co.

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. Elbert 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/elbert-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.