Farmland Atlas · county record

Pierce County, Georgia

Pierce County, GA: non-irrigated cash rent $119 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,076 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 159.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 13229. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Pierce County runs $119 per acre in 2026, up 41.7 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent was $248 per acre in 2022, and the irrigated-to-non-irrigated multiple was 2.36 that year against 1.86 in 2009, with no clear direction over time. Corn yields show a fitted trend of 0.5 bushels per acre a year across 2011-2023, with a median of 159.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 119.6 in 2019. Crop insurance closed years 1989-2025 paid $81.8 million, led by excess moisture and flood at 32 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities ran 44 percent in 1989-1999, 23 percent in 2000-2009, 28 percent in 2010-2019, and 9 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value stood at $3,076 per acre in 2022, up 6.9 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$119/ac
2026 county average
GA median $58 · 6th highest of 103
Cash rent, irrigated
$248/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$3,076/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
GA median $4,057 · 29th lowest of 135
Corn yield, 2011–2023 median
159.2 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 158.7 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$20.75
2016–2025, closed crop years
GA median $13.24 · 9th highest of 85
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
GA median 24% · 26th highest of 138

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$53$119 dry$98$248 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$119/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+41.7%nominal, $84 to $119
Irrigated, 2022$248/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,076/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,381/ac
Census 2017$2,877/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+6.9%+1.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 34% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023162.1175.8172.7median 159.2

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

Median, 2011–2023159.2 bu/ac13 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2019–2023158.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2019: 119.6 bu/ac75% of median
Trend, 2011–2023+0.5 bu/ac a year±3.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2000200520102015202020251.272.430.761.00: 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$20.75
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.23claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.21$81.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 24
Worst year2009ratio 2.43
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 32% · wind 24% · heat and drought 20%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025285212

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, 2000–2025191 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201152 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202512 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202673.0 °F1991–2020 normal 71.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.73 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland1,226 ac
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland1,953 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland296 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211362,750107

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

CRP enrolled, 2025107 ac0.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202846 ac43% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$87/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20251.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,130−21.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Pierce County$119—$3,076—$20.75
Appling County$101$254 2025$3,332—$18.41
Bacon County$88$200$3,663—$22.61
Brantley County$48—$3,316—$26.87
Ware County$83 2025—$3,041130.8$21.02
Wayne County$76—$3,579—$13.77
Median next door$82$200 1 co.$3,332130.8 1 co.$21.02

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. Pierce 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/pierce-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.