Farmland Atlas · county record

Rowan County, Kentucky

Rowan County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $43 an acre (2024); land and buildings $6,055 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 134.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21205. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Land value in 2022 was $6,055 per acre, up 118.6 percent since 2017, 16.9 percent a year. Drought has been rare here: 54 of 1357 weeks at severe drought or worse since 2000, and only 1 week from 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$43/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,055/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KY median $4,449 · 19th highest of 114
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.30
$43 ÷ 143.1 bu, recent yield 2019–2023
Corn yield, 2009–2023 median
134.8 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 143.1
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$20.21
2016–2025, closed crop years
KY median $8.45 · 9th highest of 86
Farmland rented
15%
2022 census, rented from others
KY median 25% · 20th lowest of 115

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80201020152020$44$43 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, 2024$43/ac
Change 2013 to 2024−45.9%nominal, $79 to $43
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.30$43 ÷ 143.1 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,055/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,133/ac
Census 2017$2,770/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+118.6%+16.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

20092011201320152017201920212023148.0155.2median 134.8

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

Median, 2009–2023134.8 bu/ac13 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023143.1 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 65.9 bu/ac49% of median
Trend, 2009–2023+1.1 bu/ac a year±3.4 (95% interval)

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. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$20.21
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.23claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.34$3.6 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 54% · heat and drought 35% · hail 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250210

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+ weeks200721 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20251 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.6 °F1991–2020 normal 63.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.30 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September27.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20229% of cropland864 ac
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland521 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland184 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202166780

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 20223,042−35.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202215%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Rowan County$43 2024$6,055—$20.21
Bath County$96 2023$3,111139.5$11.14
Carter County$28 2025$3,064——
Elliott County—$2,304——
Fleming County$132$3,780139.6$13.94
Lewis County$91 2025$2,517—$9.20
Menifee County$41 2023$2,876——
Morgan County$25$2,458——
Median next door$79 2 co.$2,876139.6 2 co.$11.14

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. Rowan 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/rowan-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.