Farmland Atlas · county record

Marion County, Kentucky

Marion County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $173 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,582 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 153.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21155. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Marion County runs $173 per acre, up 33.1 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value under the operators' own estimate stands at $4,582 per acre, up 31.6 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 5.6 percent a year. Cropland here is 0 percent irrigated. Heat and drought caused 48 percent of the $26.5 million in crop insurance indemnities paid from 1989-2025, closed crop years, with the share rising to 61 percent in 2020-2025 after 40 percent in 2010-2019. July nightly lows have warmed from a 65.6 F normal to 67.3 F over 2017-2026, and the county saw 9 weeks of severe drought or worse in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$173/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · 19th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$4,582/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 54th highest of 114
Rent as % of land value
3.56%
$163 dry rent ÷ $4,582 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
153.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 169.7
KY median 161.4 · 14th lowest of 50
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.13
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 38th highest of 86
Farmland rented
30%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 41st highest of 115

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$57$173 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$173/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+33.1%nominal, $130 to $173
Pasture, 2026$46/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.02$173 ÷ 169.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,582/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,693/ac
Census 2017$3,482/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.6%+5.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.56%$163 ÷ $4,582; cropland 53% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024141.0201.0139.4median 153.0

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

Median, 2008–2025153.0 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025169.7 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 70.1 bu/ac46% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.5 bu/ac a year±2.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620210.742.932.441.00: 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$9.13
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.87claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.90$26.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 15
Worst year2012ratio 2.93
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 48% · excess moisture 28% · area plans 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250151

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, 2000–202555 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200715 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20259 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.3 °F1991–2020 normal 65.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.42 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20226% of cropland5,320 ac
Farmed no-till, 202244% of cropland39,329 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland7,155 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021482,691548

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

CRP enrolled, 2025548 ac0.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028137 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$121/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202243,324−9.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202230%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Marion County$173$4,582153.0$9.13
Boyle County$126 2024$5,423—$10.48
Casey County$111$3,369148.4$10.96
Larue County$181$5,124—$5.37
Nelson County$180$5,930—$7.00
Taylor County$162$4,547168.5$13.55
Washington County$62$4,727—$9.46
Median next door$162$4,926158.5 2 co.$9.97

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. Marion 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/marion-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.