Farmland Atlas · county record

Knox County, Kentucky

Knox County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $30 an acre (2024); land and buildings $3,690 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 123.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21121. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Knox County averaged $30 per acre in 2024, down 26.2 percent from 2013. Land value, self-reported by operators in the 2022 census, was $3,690 per acre, up 54.1 percent from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields trended up 2 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2023, with a median of 123 bushels per acre and a worst year of 85.7 in 2012. July nights have warmed: the 1991-2020 normal low was 64.5 F, the 2017-2026 average is 65.7 F, and the 2020s is the first decade reaching a 66 F average low. Drought was rare, with severe drought or worse in 65 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 and only 4 weeks from 2021-2025. Solar and wind capacity are both 0 MW, operating and proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$30/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$3,690/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 33rd lowest of 114
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.21
$30 ÷ 140.0 bu, recent yield 2019–2023
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
123.0 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 140.0
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
20%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 36th lowest of 115

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40201020152020$31$30 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, 2024$30/ac
Change 2013 to 2024−26.2%nominal, $40 to $30
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.21$30 ÷ 140.0 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,690/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,749/ac
Census 2017$2,394/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+54.1%+9.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022123.0145.9median 123.0

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

Median, 2008–2023123.0 bu/ac13 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023140.0 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 85.7 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+2.0 bu/ac a year±1.5 (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.

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2008excess moisture 48% · heat and drought 38% · hail 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250290

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, 2000–202565 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200729 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20254 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.7 °F1991–2020 normal 64.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.45 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 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, 20226% of cropland567 ac
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland596 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland91 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210350

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Cattle and calves, 20223,356−17.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202220%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand value
Knox County$30 2024$3,690
Bell County—$2,647
Clay County$51 2025$2,956
Laurel County$33$4,682
Whitley County$17$2,970
Median next door$25 2 co.$2,963

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. Knox 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/knox-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.