Farmland Atlas · county record

Daviess County, Kentucky

Daviess County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $207 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,683 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 176.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21059. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Daviess County averages $207 per acre in 2026, up 12.5 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $4,683 per acre in 2022, down 6.1 percent from 2017. Crop insurance history shows $58.9 million in indemnities from 1989-2025, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 55 percent. Heat and drought's share of indemnities moved from 53 percent in 1989-1999 to 22 percent in 2000-2009, 43 percent in 2010-2019, and 19 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks were rare: 45 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 in severe drought or worse, with 2 weeks in 2021-2025. Solar and wind capacity are both 0 MW, operating and proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$207/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · 6th highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$180/ac
2017 county average
too few 2017 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,683/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 50th highest of 114
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
176.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 181.1
KY median 161.4 · 10th highest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.96
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 6th lowest of 86
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 6th highest of 115

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$108$207 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$207/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+12.5%nominal, $184 to $207
Irrigated, 2017$180/ac
Pasture, 2026$34/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.14$207 ÷ 181.1 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,683/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,884/ac
Census 2017$4,986/ac
Change 2017 to 2022−6.1%−1.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20224.14%$194 ÷ $4,683; cropland 84% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024154.0203.7156.4median 176.2

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

Median, 2008–2025176.2 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025181.1 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 90.4 bu/ac51% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.1 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920240.622.350.941.00: 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$3.96
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.51claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.55$58.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium1 of 22
Worst year2012ratio 2.35
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 55% · heat and drought 33% · area plans 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250160

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, 2000–202545 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201216 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20252 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202668.5 °F1991–2020 normal 67.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.23 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20226%
Drained by tile, 202226% of cropland58,110 ac
Farmed no-till, 202240% of cropland89,483 ac
Cover crops, 202214% of cropland31,392 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021332,0271,350

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,350 ac0.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028427 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$205/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202213,254+10.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Daviess County$207$4,683176.2$3.96
Spencer County, IN$185$6,525171.8$2.63
Warrick County, IN$175$6,707161.2$6.45
Hancock County$160$4,217—$4.51
Henderson County$236$6,088172.8$5.19
McLean County$191$5,794183.7$5.11
Ohio County$168 2024$3,919180.0$5.09
Median next door$185$5,941172.8$5.10

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. Daviess 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/daviess-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.