Farmland Atlas · county record

Bourbon County, Kentucky

Bourbon County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $105 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,039 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 163.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21017. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Bourbon County is $105 per acre in 2026, down 25 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 is $7,039 per acre, up 23.8 percent from 2017 to 2022. July nightly lows have warmed 0.46 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average of 65.9 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 64.6 F. Drought weeks stayed low, 42 of 1357 weeks since 2000, with only 1 week from 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated

$105/ac

2026 county average
KY median $125 · tied for 36th lowest of 86

Land and buildings

$7,039/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 10th highest of 114

Rent as % of land value

—

not shown: cropland is 38% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield, 2008–2023 median

163.8 bu/ac

14 published years

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

$9.59

2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 32nd highest of 86

Farmland rented

32%

2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 35th highest of 115

Cash rent

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$105/ac

Change 2016 to 2026−25.0%nominal, $140 to $105

Pasture, 2026$54/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,039/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$4,256/ac

Census 2017$5,684/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+23.8%+4.4% a year, nominal

Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 38% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

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

Median, 2008–2023163.8 bu/ac14 published years

Lowest published year2012: 34.7 bu/ac21% of median

Trend, 2008–2023+4.4 bu/ac a year±5.0 (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$9.59

Loss ratio, 2016–20250.56claims ÷ total premium

Loss ratio, 1989–20251.36$41.3 million paid

Years claims exceeded premium6 of 14

Worst year2012ratio 2.68

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 46% · excess moisture 34% · hail 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

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, 2000–202542 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks200717 weeks

Last five years, 2021–20251 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.9 °F1991–2020 normal 64.6 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.46 °F a decadewarming

Rain, April to September26.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% 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, 20220%

Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland809 ac

Farmed no-till, 202223% of cropland15,970 ac

Cover crops, 20224% of cropland2,692 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 2025437 ac0.8% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2026–2028179 ac41% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$66/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Cattle and calves, 202243,023−18.3% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Land value	Corn yield	Claims per $100
Bourbon County	$105	$7,039	—	$9.59
Clark County	$93	$5,480	164.6	$7.21
Fayette County	$80	$16,231	164.8	$6.21
Harrison County	$101	$4,169	—	$10.88
Montgomery County	$60	$4,254	—	$11.94
Nicholas County	$120 2025	$4,706	—	$27.70
Scott County	$110	$6,387	155.0	$9.03
Median next door	$93	$5,093	164.6	$9.96

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. Bourbon 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/bourbon-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.

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