Farmland Atlas · county record

Graves County, Kentucky

Graves County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $170 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,523 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 154.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21083. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Graves County is $170 per acre in 2026, up 23.2 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 is $5,523 per acre, up 44.4 percent from 2017, 7.6 percent a year. Irrigation covers 3 percent of harvested cropland, and irrigation failure indemnities are 0 million dollars.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$170/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · tied for 20th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$5,523/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 27th highest of 114
Rent as % of land value
3.02%
$167 dry rent ÷ $5,523 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
154.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 177.0
KY median 161.4 · 16th lowest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 19th lowest of 86
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 13th highest of 115

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$78$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 2016 to 2026+23.2%nominal, $138 to $170
Pasture, 2023$32/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.96$170 ÷ 177.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,523/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,242/ac
Census 2017$3,825/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+44.4%+7.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.02%$167 ÷ $5,523; cropland 78% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024131.0190.6169.7median 154.0

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

Median, 2008–2025154.0 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025177.0 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 49.5 bu/ac32% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±3.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2000200520102015202020250.905.891.501.00: 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$5.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.72claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.88$112.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 26
Worst year2012ratio 5.89
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 50% · excess moisture 24% · area plans 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250304

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, 2000–202584 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201230 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.8 °F1991–2020 normal 69.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.46 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20223%
Drained by tile, 20224% of cropland7,875 ac
Farmed no-till, 202264% of cropland126,948 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland9,736 ac
198619911996200120062011201620216,29055,5697,566

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

CRP enrolled, 20257,566 ac4.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,414 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$149/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202215,109+2.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Graves County$170$5,523154.0$5.52
Calloway County$161$5,167143.0$8.48
Carlisle County$180$5,470168.8$5.46
Hickman County$180$5,670175.2$6.73
Marshall County$131$5,272—$6.60
McCracken County$140$5,673—$6.35
Henry County, TN$141$4,384169.9$6.53
Weakley County, TN$145$4,680157.3$5.57
Median next door$145$5,272168.8$6.53

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. Graves 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/graves-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.