Shelby County, Kentucky
Shelby County, KY: non-irrigated cash rent $166 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,994 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 168.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 21211. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Shelby County runs $166 per acre, up 26.7 percent from 2016 to 2026. Census land value stands at $7,994 per acre, up 37.6 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 6.6 percent a year. Corn yield trend on published years 2008-2025 runs 2.7 bushels per acre a year, with a median of 168.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 105 in 2012. Heat and drought drove 58 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, with the share at 60 percent in 1989-1999, 79 percent in 2000-2009, 52 percent in 2010-2019, and 54 percent in 2020-2025. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, and weeks in severe drought or worse ran 30 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 4 such weeks from 2021-2025.
KY median $125 · 24th highest of 86
KY median $4,449 · 6th highest of 114
KY median 161.4 · 21st highest of 50
KY median $8.45 · 23rd lowest of 86
KY median 25% · 24th highest of 115
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County | $166 | $7,994 | 168.2 | $6.14 |
| Anderson County | $73 | $5,426 | — | — |
| Franklin County | $70 | $4,931 | — | $9.42 |
| Henry County | $95 | $4,807 | — | $8.63 |
| Jefferson County | $53 2025 | $13,280 | — | $8.42 |
| Oldham County | $96 | $8,262 | 154.5 | $2.36 |
| Spencer County | $122 | $6,499 | — | $8.01 |
| Median next door | $95 | $5,963 | 154.5 1 co. | $8.42 |
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. Shelby 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/shelby-countyEvery 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.