Farmland Atlas · county record

Lee County, Kentucky

Lee County, KY: land and buildings $3,452 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21129. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

July nightly lows average 66.5 F for 2017-2026, up from a 1991-2020 normal of 64.9 F, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.4 F per decade, warming. Heat and drought caused 65 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1995-2006, with the heat and drought share at 92 percent for 1989-1999 and 20 percent for 2000-2009. Drought weeks stayed low across 2000-2025, with 54 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse and zero such weeks in 2021-2025. Land value is $3,452 per acre in 2022, up 68.6 percent from 2017-2022. No cropland is irrigated, and no solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed in the county.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
county not in the NASS cash rents survey frame
Land and buildings
$3,452/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 28th 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
—
NASS publishes no county corn yield series for this county
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
20%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 37th lowest of 115

Cash rent

Cash rent— county not in the NASS cash rents survey frame

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,452/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,902/ac
Census 2017$2,047/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+68.6%+11.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— NASS publishes no county corn yield series for this county

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1995. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in.

Largest causes of loss, 1995–2006heat and drought 65% · excess moisture 29% · other 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250230

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, 2000–202554 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200723 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.5 °F1991–2020 normal 64.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.40 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 112% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 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, 202233% of cropland1,802 ac
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland105 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland79 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021070

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 2022950−55.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202220%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lee County—$3,452——
Breathitt County—$2,132——
Estill County$22$3,319133.4—
Jackson County$27$3,099——
Owsley County—$2,657——
Powell County—$3,262—$24.23
Wolfe County$55$2,864——
Median next door$27$2,982133.4 1 co.$24.23 1 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. Lee 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/lee-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.