Farmland Atlas · county record

Boone County, Kentucky

Boone County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $45 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,920 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 145.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent for 2026 is $45 per acre, down 22.4 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 was $8,920 per acre, up 48.6 percent from 2017, 8.2 percent a year, so rent has fallen even as land value climbed. July nightly lows have warmed, 65.5 F normal versus 67.4 F for 2017-2026, with only 2 weeks in severe drought or worse over 2021-2025. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$45/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · tied for 9th lowest of 86
Land and buildings
$8,920/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 3rd highest of 114
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 37% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
145.1 bu/ac
15 published years
KY median 161.4 · 8th lowest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.74
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 40th highest of 86
Farmland rented
17%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 27th lowest of 115

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$67$45 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$45/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−22.4%nominal, $58 to $45
Pasture, 2026$32/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,920/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,170/ac
Census 2017$6,004/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+48.6%+8.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 37% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024145.0176.6median 145.1

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

Median, 2008–2025145.1 bu/ac15 published years
Lowest published year2012: 51.9 bu/ac36% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$8.74
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.71claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.31$6.3 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 50% · excess moisture 32% · other 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250100

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, 2000–202527 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201010 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20252 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.4 °F1991–2020 normal 65.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.48 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland613 ac
Farmed no-till, 202213% of cropland3,379 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland1,987 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021639432

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

CRP enrolled, 202532 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20253.1 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20228,553+3.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202217%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Boone County$45$8,920145.1$8.74
Dearborn County, IN$147$6,735160.6$10.02
Ohio County, IN$90 2025$6,126—$4.77
Switzerland County, IN$134$7,606158.2$6.70
Gallatin County—$3,786—$14.78
Grant County$76$5,003——
Kenton County$46$7,531——
Hamilton County, OH$167 2025$13,985—$3.34
Median next door$105$6,735159.4 2 co.$6.70

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. Boone County, Kentucky. 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/kentucky/boone-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.