Farmland Atlas · county record

Wicomico County, Maryland

Wicomico County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $114 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,641 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 135.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24045. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wicomico County runs $114 per acre, up 39.9 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigated land rents at $193 per acre, and the irrigated premium has held near a 1.82 to 1.83 multiple over non-irrigated rent since 2010, with no clear direction. Census land value sits at $7,641 per acre, up 8.6 percent from 2017 to 2022. Heat and drought drove 67 percent of crop insurance indemnities across closed years 1989-2025, and that share has moved 81 percent, 77 percent, 61 percent, 67 percent across the decades listed. July nights have warmed 0.92 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average low of 69.7 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 68.1 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$114/ac
2026 county average
MD median $117 · 10th lowest of 21
Cash rent, irrigated
$193/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$7,641/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MD median $9,250 · 4th lowest of 23
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
135.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 152.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
MD median 155.2 · lowest of 15
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.54
2016–2025, closed crop years
MD median $4.00 · 7th highest of 22
Farmland rented
43%
2022 census, rented from others
MD median 41% · 10th highest of 23

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$66$114 dry$118$193 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$114/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+39.9%nominal, $82 to $114
Irrigated, 2025$193/ac
Pasture, 2023$69/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,641/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,284/ac
Census 2017$7,034/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+8.6%+1.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 30% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024105.0174.1136.8median 135.2

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

Median, 2008–2025135.2 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025152.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 73.0 bu/ac54% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.7 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920240.212.150.511.00: 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$6.54
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.53claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.70$32.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 21
Worst year2010ratio 2.15
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 67% · excess moisture 20% · other 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250306

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, 2000–202593 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200230 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202516 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.7 °F1991–2020 normal 68.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.92 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% 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, 202230%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland1,702 ac
Farmed no-till, 202263% of cropland31,594 ac
Cover crops, 202228% of cropland14,167 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021126,6042,936

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,936 ac5.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028941 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$259/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202520.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022598−35.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202243%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Wicomico County$114$193 2025$7,641135.2$6.54
Sussex County, DE$106—$9,642165.1$3.66
Dorchester County$117$270 2025$7,614167.4$4.78
Somerset County$102—$7,951147.2$3.65
Worcester County$118—$8,232151.1$3.15
Median next door$112—$8,092158.1$3.66

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. Wicomico 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/wicomico-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.