Farmland Atlas · county record

Caldwell County, Kentucky

Caldwell County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $170 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,783 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 159.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21033. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Caldwell County is $170 per acre in 2026, up 23.2 percent from 2014. Land value carries a similar climb: the census figure rose 43.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, 7.5 percent a year, reaching $4,783 per acre in 2022, with rent at 2.97 percent of that value. Corn yield has trended up 3.5 bushels per acre a year across 2008-2025, with a median of 159.4 bushels per acre and a worst year of 51.1 in 2012. Heat and drought drove 52 percent of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025; the share was 51 percent in 1989-1999, 52 percent in 2000-2009, 59 percent in 2010-2019, and 42 percent in 2020-2025. The county saw 11 weeks of severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 55 weeks total from 2000-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$170/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · tied for 20th highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$180/ac
2017 county average
too few 2017 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,783/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 45th highest of 114
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
159.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 182.7
KY median 161.4 · 23rd lowest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.48
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 17th lowest of 86
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 11th highest of 115

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$95$170 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$170/ac
Change 2014 to 2026+23.2%nominal, $138 to $170
Irrigated, 2017$180/ac
Pasture, 2026$42/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.93$170 ÷ 182.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,783/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,735/ac
Census 2017$3,339/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+43.2%+7.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.97%$142 ÷ $4,783; cropland 69% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024131.0199.0157.7median 159.4

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

Median, 2008–2025159.4 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025182.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 51.1 bu/ac32% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.5 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720221.663.711.201.00: 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$5.48
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.71$45.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 19
Worst year2012ratio 3.71
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 52% · excess moisture 30% · area plans 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250212

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, 2000–202555 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201221 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202511 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.5 °F1991–2020 normal 68.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.32 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 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, 20224% of cropland3,641 ac
Farmed no-till, 202241% of cropland35,073 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland3,795 ac
198619911996200120062011201620212,36828,8174,977

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,977 ac6.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,147 ac23% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$151/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 20229,865+17.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Caldwell County$170—$4,783159.4$5.48
Christian County$200$219$5,807181.7$5.94
Crittenden County$168—$3,369160.5$7.12
Hopkins County$160—$4,313—$6.13
Lyon County$144 2025—$4,987—$5.50
Trigg County$175—$5,078170.4$9.61
Webster County$229—$4,351172.1$4.67
Median next door$175$219 1 co.$4,669171.3$6.04

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. Caldwell 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/caldwell-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.