Farmland Atlas · county record

Nicholas County, Kentucky

Nicholas County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $120 an acre (2025); land and buildings $4,706 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 148.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21181. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Nicholas County averages $120 per acre in 2025, up 51.9 percent from 2013. Census land value stands at $4,706 per acre, up 102.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, 15.2 percent a year. Corn yield has a median of 148.5 bushels per acre from 2009-2022, with 2012 low at 30.1.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$120/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,706/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 49th highest of 114
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
Corn yield, 2009–2022 median
148.5 bu/ac
8 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$27.70
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 2nd highest of 86
Farmland rented
21%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 41st lowest of 115

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$67$120 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$120/ac
Change 2013 to 2025+51.9%nominal, $79 to $120
Pasture, 2026$35/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,706/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,159/ac
Census 2017$2,322/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+102.7%+15.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

20092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022147.0100.0126.530.1153.0157.0173.9150.0median 148.5

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

Median, 2009–2022148.5 bu/ac8 published years
Lowest published year2012: 30.1 bu/ac20% of median

Crop insurance record

201220152.042.181.921.00: 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$27.70
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.84claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.93$32.8 million paid
Worst year2014ratio 2.18
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 46% · heat and drought 38% · hail 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250190

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, 2000–202540 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200719 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20251 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.3 °F1991–2020 normal 64.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.38 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September27.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland116 ac
Farmed no-till, 202215% of cropland5,177 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland1,015 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210310310

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

CRP enrolled, 2025310 ac1.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202831 ac10% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$22/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202217,063−30.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202221%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Nicholas County$120 2025$4,706—$27.70
Bath County$96 2023$3,111139.5$11.14
Bourbon County$105$7,039—$9.59
Fleming County$132$3,780139.6$13.94
Harrison County$101$4,169—$10.88
Robertson County$75 2025$3,643——
Median next door$105$3,780139.6 2 co.$11.01

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. Nicholas 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/nicholas-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.