Farmland Atlas · county record

Cecil County, Maryland

Cecil County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $131 an acre (2026); land and buildings $10,443 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 163.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cecil County is $131 per acre in 2026, up 39.4 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 is $10,443 per acre, up 30.3 percent from 2017, and rent is 1.5 percent of that value. July nights have warmed to an average low of 69.2 F for 2017-2026, above the 67.1 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.95 F per decade.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$131/ac
2026 county average
MD median $117 · 7th highest of 21
Land and buildings
$10,443/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MD median $9,250 · 8th highest of 23
Rent as % of land value
1.5%
$157 dry rent ÷ $10,443 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
163.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 176.7
MD median 155.2 · 4th highest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.24
2016–2025, closed crop years
MD median $4.00 · 3rd lowest of 22
Farmland rented
44%
2022 census, rented from others
MD median 41% · 9th highest of 23

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$79$131 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$131/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+39.4%nominal, $94 to $131
Pasture, 2023$84/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.74$131 ÷ 176.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$10,443/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,255/ac
Census 2017$8,017/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+30.3%+5.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.5%$157 ÷ $10,443; cropland 72% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024121.0201.0median 163.9

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

Median, 2008–2025163.9 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025176.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 121.0 bu/ac74% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.2 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.000.151.00: 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$2.24
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.27claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.33$9.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium0 of 18
Worst year2008ratio 1.00
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 57% · excess moisture 21% · freeze 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504414

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, 2000–202571 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200244 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202525 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.2 °F1991–2020 normal 67.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.95 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% 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, 20223%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland417 ac
Farmed no-till, 202245% of cropland26,601 ac
Cover crops, 202231% of cropland18,396 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202102,6381,296

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,296 ac2.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028276 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$251/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202513.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20227,230+19.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202244%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cecil County$131—$10,443163.9$2.24
New Castle County, DE$102$225 2025$11,212159.8$2.35
Harford County$171—$11,928165.9$1.47
Kent County$191$282$7,782164.1$2.45
Chester County, PA$199$269$13,004172.8$1.89
Lancaster County, PA$289$523$21,633179.8$2.98
Median next door$191$282$11,928165.9$2.35

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. Cecil County, Maryland. 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/maryland/cecil-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.