Farmland Atlas · county record

Washington County, Maryland

Washington County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $128 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,668 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 145.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24043. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Washington County is $128 per acre in 2026, up 70.7 percent from 2016. Land value stands at $8,668 per acre, up 7.6 percent from 2017 to 2022. July nightly lows have moved from 63.8 F normal to 65.2 F over 2017-2026, part of a warming trend of 0.68 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$128/ac
2026 county average
MD median $117 · 8th highest of 21
Land and buildings
$8,668/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MD median $9,250 · 11th lowest of 23
Rent as % of land value
0.99%
$86 dry rent ÷ $8,668 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
145.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 141.4
MD median 155.2 · 3rd lowest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.61
2016–2025, closed crop years
MD median $4.00 · 4th highest of 22
Farmland rented
41%
2022 census, rented from others
MD median 41% · 12th lowest of 23

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$55$128 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$128/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+70.7%nominal, $75 to $128
Pasture, 2026$42/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.91$128 ÷ 141.4 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,668/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,981/ac
Census 2017$8,057/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+7.6%+1.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.99%$86 ÷ $8,668; cropland 70% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024128.0164.6158.0median 145.1

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

Median, 2008–2025145.1 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025141.4 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 65.0 bu/ac45% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.6 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720222.213.210.581.00: 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$9.61
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.54claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.73$34.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 19
Worst year2010ratio 3.21
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 59% · excess moisture 14% · hail 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202501610

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, 2000–202544 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200216 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.2 °F1991–2020 normal 63.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.68 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September22.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland185 ac
Farmed no-till, 202250% of cropland42,416 ac
Cover crops, 202216% of cropland13,125 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202182,2121,753

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,753 ac2.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028377 ac22% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$167/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202562.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202236,191−17.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202241%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Washington County$128$8,668145.1$9.61
Allegany County$28$6,375——
Frederick County$123$11,000146.9$10.37
Franklin County, PA$146$8,855146.8$7.03
Fulton County, PA$77$5,350116.8$12.67
Loudoun County, VA$37$12,276—$14.81
Berkeley County, WV$46$7,055—$22.07
Jefferson County, WV$55$7,118—$7.76
Morgan County, WV$21$5,715——
Median next door$51$7,087146.8$11.52

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. Washington 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/washington-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.