Farmland Atlas · county record

Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $79 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,326 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 167.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21167. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Mercer County sits at $79 per acre, down 36.8 percent from 2016 to 2026. July nights have warmed from a 65.6 F normal to 67.1 F over 2017-2026, with no irrigated cropland reported in the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$79/ac
2026 county average
KY median $125 · 23rd lowest of 86
Land and buildings
$5,326/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 34th highest of 114
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.42
$79 ÷ 186.5 bu, recent yield 2019–2023
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
167.7 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 186.5
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.89
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 19th highest of 86
Farmland rented
40%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 22nd highest of 115

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$41$79 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$79/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−36.8%nominal, $125 to $79
Pasture, 2025$36/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.42$79 ÷ 186.5 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,326/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,379/ac
Census 2017$3,925/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+35.7%+6.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 47% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

2008201020122014201620182020202284.0206.8median 167.7

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

Median, 2008–2023167.7 bu/ac14 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023186.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 53.8 bu/ac32% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+6.5 bu/ac a year±3.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

202120250.090.290.583.221.511.00: 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$11.89
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.94claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.01$16.1 million paid
Worst year2024ratio 3.22
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 53% · excess moisture 21% · area plans 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250150

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, 2000–202549 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200715 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20259 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.1 °F1991–2020 normal 65.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.49 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% 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, 20221% of cropland528 ac
Farmed no-till, 202230% of cropland20,453 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland2,034 ac
198619911996200120062011201620213721725

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

CRP enrolled, 202525 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20289 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202513 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202237,607−16.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202240%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mercer County$79$5,326—$11.89
Anderson County$73$5,426——
Boyle County$126 2024$5,423—$10.48
Garrard County$61$4,338—$22.17
Jessamine County$60$7,170—$12.82
Washington County$62$4,727—$9.46
Woodford County$113$8,841155.8$7.69
Median next door$62$5,425155.8 1 co.$10.48

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. Mercer 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/mercer-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.