Farmland Atlas · county record

Estill County, Kentucky

Estill County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,319 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 133.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21065. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Estill County sits at $22 per acre in 2026, down 35.3 percent from 2016. Land and buildings carry a census value of $3,319 per acre, and that value rose 38.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, 6.7 percent a year. Corn yields trend up 2.6 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 133.4 bushels per acre and a worst year of 89 in 2008. July nightly lows have warmed to 66.8 F average for 2017-2026, up from the 65.2 F normal for 1991-2020. Solar and wind operating and proposed capacity are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · 2nd lowest of 86
Land and buildings
$3,319/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 25th lowest of 114
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.15
$22 ÷ 146.0 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
133.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 146.0
KY median 161.4 · lowest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
15%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 21st lowest of 115

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$50201520202025$31$22 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$22/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−35.3%nominal, $34 to $22
Pasture, 2026$21/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.15$22 ÷ 146.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,319/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,848/ac
Census 2017$2,404/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+38.1%+6.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 26% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202489.0176.8126.5median 133.4

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

Median, 2008–2025133.4 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025146.0 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 89.0 bu/ac67% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.6 bu/ac a year±1.8 (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.

Loss ratio, 1989–20251.29$1.4 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1992–2025excess moisture 57% · heat and drought 32% · other 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250220

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, 2000–202553 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200722 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20251 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.8 °F1991–2020 normal 65.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.44 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 114% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.5 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, 20229% of cropland1,134 ac
Farmed no-till, 20229% of cropland1,202 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland586 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021326817

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

CRP enrolled, 202517 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Cattle and calves, 20224,794−35.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202215%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Estill County$22$3,319133.4—
Clark County$93$5,480164.6$7.21
Jackson County$27$3,099——
Lee County—$3,452——
Madison County$40$4,386144.1—
Powell County—$3,262—$24.23
Median next door$40$3,452154.4 2 co.$15.72 2 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. Estill 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/estill-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.