Farmland Atlas · county record

Owsley County, Kentucky

Owsley County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $34 an acre (2022); land and buildings $2,657 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21189. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Owsley County is $34 per acre, against a land value of $2,657 per acre in 2022. That land value moved up 98 percent from 2017-2022. Excess moisture and flood, not heat, drove indemnities from 1992-2021, at 56 percent of the $1.8 million paid, and the heat and drought share of indemnities fell from 65 percent in 1989-1999 to 39 percent in 2000-2009 to 11 percent in 2010-2019. Drought weeks were 59 of 1357 from 2000-2025, and 0 from 2021-2025. The July average nightly low moved from 64.8 F normal to 66.5 F over 2017-2026, warming at 0.46 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$34/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$2,657/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 8th lowest of 114
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 26% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
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
8%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 4th lowest of 115

Cash rent

Non-irrigated, 2022$34/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,657/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,349/ac
Census 2017$1,342/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+98.0%+14.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 26% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

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.

Largest causes of loss, 1992–2021excess moisture 56% · heat and drought 35% · other 6%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, 2000–202559 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200725 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.5 °F1991–2020 normal 64.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.46 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% 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, 20224%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland279 ac
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland220 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 20221,353−12.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 20228%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand value
Owsley County—$2,657
Breathitt County—$2,132
Clay County$51 2025$2,956
Jackson County$27$3,099
Lee County—$3,452
Perry County—$2,578
Median next door$27 1 co.$2,956

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. Owsley 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/owsley-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.