Farmland Atlas · county record

Fulton County, Kentucky

Fulton County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $191 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,381 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 177.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21075. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Fulton County runs $191 per acre in 2026, up 27.3 percent from 2016. Census land value stands at $5,381 per acre, with a 46.5 percent gain from 2017 to 2022, 7.9 percent a year, and the 2022 rent-to-value ratio was 3.31 percent. Corn yields have trended up 2.1 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 177.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 72.3 in 2012. Crop insurance history shows $60.4 million in indemnities across 1989-2025, driven mostly by excess moisture and flood at 56 percent; heat and drought shares moved 35 percent, 15 percent, 35 percent, and 33 percent across the four listed periods. Only 7 percent of cropland is irrigated, and solar and wind capacity are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$191/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · tied for 10th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$5,381/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 33rd highest of 114
Rent as % of land value
3.31%
$178 dry rent ÷ $5,381 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
177.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 169.8
KY median 161.4 · 9th highest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.19
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 34th lowest of 86
Farmland rented
63%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 2nd highest of 115

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$109$191 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$191/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+27.3%nominal, $150 to $191
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.12$191 ÷ 169.8 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,381/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,490/ac
Census 2017$3,674/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+46.5%+7.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.31%$178 ÷ $5,381; cropland 91% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024152.0196.3158.6median 177.2

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

Median, 2008–2025177.2 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025169.8 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 72.3 bu/ac41% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.1 bu/ac a year±3.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920240.453.231.391.00: 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$7.19
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.70claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.85$60.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 22
Worst year2012ratio 3.23
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 56% · heat and drought 32% · area plans 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020251264

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, 2000–202593 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201226 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202513 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.8 °F1991–2020 normal 69.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.32 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% 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, 20227%
Farmed no-till, 202259% of cropland49,033 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland4,077 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202128410,2182,217

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,217 ac2.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028483 ac22% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$189/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 2022483−13.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202263%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Fulton County$191—$5,381177.2$7.19
Hickman County$180—$5,670175.2$6.73
Mississippi County, MO$183$251$6,746180.7$5.96
New Madrid County, MO$161$227$6,704171.9$6.72
Lake County, TN$196$223$4,535—$5.40
Obion County, TN$178—$4,192167.6$6.78
Median next door$180$227$5,670173.6$6.72

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. Fulton 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/fulton-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.