Farmland Atlas · county record

Kent County, Maryland

Kent County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $191 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,782 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 164.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24029. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Kent County runs $191 per acre in 2026, up 69 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $282 per acre, a multiple of 1.48 over non-irrigated in 2026, compared with 1.56 in 2010, with no clear direction over that span. Corn yields trend up 3.8 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 164.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 85.1 in 2011. Heat and drought account for 76 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, with shares of 86 percent in 1989-1999, 73 percent in 2000-2009, 73 percent in 2010-2019, and 81 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value sits at $7,782 per acre in 2022, up 17.7 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$191/ac
2026 county average
MD median $117 · highest of 21
Cash rent, irrigated
$282/ac
2026 county average
MD median $259 · highest of 3
Land and buildings
$7,782/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MD median $9,250 · 5th lowest of 23
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
164.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 175.6 · irrigated and dryland combined
MD median 155.2 · 3rd highest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.45
2016–2025, closed crop years
MD median $4.00 · 5th lowest of 22
Farmland rented
41%
2022 census, rented from others
MD median 41% · 11th lowest of 23

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$86$191 dry$118$282 irrigated

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$191/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+69.0%nominal, $113 to $191
Irrigated, 2026$282/ac
Pasture, 2025$117/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,782/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,813/ac
Census 2017$6,609/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+17.7%+3.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 10% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024104.0195.2193.5median 164.1

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

Median, 2008–2025164.1 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025175.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 85.1 bu/ac52% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.8 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.581.820.111.00: 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$2.45
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.31claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.54$41.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 23
Worst year2011ratio 1.82
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 76% · excess moisture 14% · price decline (revenue policies) 4%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, 2000–202573 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200244 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202524 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.4 °F1991–2020 normal 68.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.99 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202210%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland1,409 ac
Farmed no-till, 202261% of cropland67,703 ac
Cover crops, 202250% of cropland56,437 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021536,0074,213

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,213 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,362 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$329/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202511.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20228,017−19.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202241%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Kent County$191$282$7,782164.1$2.45
Kent County, DE$119—$8,679174.6$2.24
New Castle County, DE$102$225 2025$11,212159.8$2.35
Cecil County$131—$10,443163.9$2.24
Queen Anne's County$177$259$8,163162.2$2.33
Median next door$125$259 1 co.$9,561163.1$2.29

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. Kent 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/kent-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.