Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $117 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,614 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 167.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Dorchester County averages $117 per acre, up 9.3 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigated cropland rents at $270 per acre, and the irrigated multiple over non-irrigated rent has moved from 1.32 in 2011 to 2.48 in 2025, a rising multiple. Forty percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, drawing 95 percent of its water from groundwater. Heat and drought has driven crop insurance losses, though its share of indemnities has moved differently across periods: 71 percent in 1989-1999, 57 percent in 2000-2009, 45 percent in 2010-2019, and 53 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value sits at $7,614 per acre, up 34.1 percent from 2017 to 2022.
MD median $117 · 11th lowest of 21
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
MD median $9,250 · 3rd lowest of 23
MD median 155.2 · highest of 15
MD median $4.00 · 9th highest of 22
MD median 41% · 7th lowest of 23
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 | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester County | $117 | $270 2025 | $7,614 | 167.4 | $4.78 |
| Sussex County, DE | $106 | — | $9,642 | 165.1 | $3.66 |
| Caroline County | $140 | $234 | $9,891 | 157.1 | $4.05 |
| Somerset County | $102 | — | $7,951 | 147.2 | $3.65 |
| Talbot County | $136 | — | $9,250 | 148.1 | $3.84 |
| Wicomico County | $114 | $193 2025 | $7,641 | 135.2 | $6.54 |
| Median next door | $114 | $234 1 co. | $9,250 | 148.1 | $3.84 |
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. Dorchester 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/dorchester-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.