Farmland Atlas · county record

Harford County, Maryland

Harford County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $171 an acre (2026); land and buildings $11,928 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 165.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24025. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Harford County averages $171 per acre in 2026, up 42.5 percent from 2016. Census land value sits at $11,928 per acre in 2022, with rent equal to 1.39 percent of that value. July nights average 69 F over 2017-2026, against a 66.8 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.96 F per decade, warming. Crop insurance heat and drought shares moved 85 percent in 1989-1999, 43 percent in 2000-2009, 28 percent in 2010-2019, and 59 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks totaled 28 of the county's 2000-2025 count of 68 occurring in 2021-2025 alone. Solar operating capacity stands at 58.9 MW; wind operating capacity is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$171/ac
2026 county average
MD median $117 · 3rd highest of 21
Land and buildings
$11,928/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MD median $9,250 · 4th highest of 23
Rent as % of land value
1.39%
$166 dry rent ÷ $11,928 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
165.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 180.1
MD median 155.2 · 2nd highest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.47
2016–2025, closed crop years
MD median $4.00 · lowest of 22
Farmland rented
45%
2022 census, rented from others
MD median 41% · 7th highest of 23

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$79$171 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$171/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+42.5%nominal, $120 to $171
Pasture, 2026$63/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.95$171 ÷ 180.1 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$11,928/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,264/ac
Census 2017$10,906/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+9.4%+1.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.39%$166 ÷ $11,928; cropland 67% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024140.0191.5median 165.9

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

Median, 2008–2025165.9 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025180.1 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 129.7 bu/ac78% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.3 bu/ac a year±1.6 (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$1.47
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.19claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.29$4.6 million paid
Worst year2011ratio 0.28
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 43% · excess moisture 23% · other 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504019

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, 2000–202568 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200240 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202528 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.0 °F1991–2020 normal 66.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.96 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland582 ac
Farmed no-till, 202247% of cropland20,883 ac
Cover crops, 202225% of cropland11,113 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021181,256594

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

CRP enrolled, 2025594 ac1.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028136 ac23% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$263/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202558.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20227,318−19.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Harford County$171—$11,928165.9$1.47
Baltimore County$156—$13,587—$3.37
Cecil County$131—$10,443163.9$2.24
Lancaster County, PA$289$523$21,633179.8$2.98
York County, PA$166$324 2024$9,224156.1$3.52
Median next door$161$523 1 co.$12,015163.9$3.18

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. Harford 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/harford-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.