Farmland Atlas · county record

Wilkes County, Georgia

Wilkes County, GA: non-irrigated cash rent $24 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,614 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 13317. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wilkes County runs $24 per acre in 2026, up 9.3 percent from 2016. July nights average 70.9 F for 2017-2026, against a 69.7 F normal for 1991-2020, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.47 F per decade, warming. Crop insurance indemnities from 1995-2025 total $341,598, with heat and drought the largest cause at 68 percent, a share that holds steady at 68 percent for 2020-2025. Drought weeks at severe level or worse ran 301 of 1357 from 2000-2025, worst year 2008 with 53 weeks, but only 7 weeks from 2021-2025. Solar and wind operating and proposed both stand at 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$24/ac
2026 county average
GA median $58 · 3rd lowest of 103
Land and buildings
$3,614/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
GA median $4,057 · 52nd lowest of 135
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 22% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
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
28%
2022 census, rented from others
GA median 24% · 43rd highest of 138

Cash rent

$0$10$202010201520202025$20$24 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$24/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+9.3%nominal, $22 to $24
Pasture, 2026$21/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,614/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,777/ac
Census 2017$3,447/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+4.8%+1.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 22% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

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 1995. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Largest causes of loss, 1995–2025heat and drought 68% · price decline (revenue policies) 15% · wind 15%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, 2000–2025301 of 1,357 weeks22% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200853 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.9 °F1991–2020 normal 69.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.47 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September22.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland610 ac
Farmed no-till, 202211% of cropland1,913 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland454 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202133664273

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

CRP enrolled, 2025273 ac2.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$15/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202211,740−14.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202228%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Wilkes County$24$3,614—
Elbert County$37$4,492—
Lincoln County$23$3,791—
McDuffie County$78$2,810—
Oglethorpe County$34$5,655—
Taliaferro County$58$4,828—
Warren County$21 2023$2,933$11.14
Median next door$37$4,142$11.14 1 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. Wilkes 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/wilkes-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.