Farmland Atlas · county record

Lawrence County, Kentucky

Lawrence County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $44 an acre (2025); land and buildings $2,800 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21127. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lawrence County stands at $44 per acre, up 41.9 percent from 2014 to 2025. Land value follows the same path: $2,800 per acre in 2022, up 75.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 11.9 percent a year. July nights average 65.5 F for 2017-2026, against a 63.8 F normal for 1991-2020, and the long trend since 1976 runs 0.51 F per decade, warming. Drought has stayed light: 7 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, versus 51 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 countywide, worst year 2007 with 25 weeks. No cropland here is irrigated.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$44/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$2,800/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 11th lowest of 114
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
14%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 19th lowest of 115

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$21$44 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, 2025$44/ac
Change 2014 to 2025+41.9%nominal, $31 to $44

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,800/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,416/ac
Census 2017$1,599/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+75.1%+11.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

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.

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2021excess moisture 70% · heat and drought 25% · hail 2%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250250

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, 2000–202551 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200725 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.5 °F1991–2020 normal 63.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.51 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20227% of cropland474 ac
Farmed no-till, 20223% of cropland213 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland115 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210900

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 20223,036−0.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202214%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand value
Lawrence County$44 2025$2,800
Boyd County$38 2024$3,181
Carter County$28 2025$3,064
Elliott County—$2,304
Johnson County—$3,144
Martin County—$2,372
Morgan County$25$2,458
Wayne County, WV$31 2025$2,644
Median next door$25 1 co.$2,644

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. Lawrence 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/lawrence-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.