County farm facts

Worcester County, Maryland

Worcester County, MD: non-irrigated cash rent $118 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,232 an acre in the 2022 census. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 24047. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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Stands out against its own record

$118

Non-irrigated cash rent, 2026: the highest of 17 surveys since 2008; up 33% from $89 in 2016.

USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, 2026

As of Oct 16, cash rent in Worcester County runs $118 an acre for 2026, up 33.3% from $89 in 2016 and 10th highest of 21 in Maryland. The census value of land and buildings was $8,232 an acre in 2022, up 55.3% from $5,300 in 2017, which ranks 9th lowest of 23 against a state median of $9,250. Corn made 152.9 bu in 2025, a bit under the 2021-25 average of 158.0 bu.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$118/ac
2026 county average
MD median $117 · 10th highest of 21
Cash rent, irrigated
n/a
last published 2013, more than three survey years old
Land and buildings
$8,232/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · MD farm real estate 2026: $9,950 (land and buildings, state survey)
MD median $9,250 · 9th lowest of 23
Corn yield, 2021-25 average
158.0 bu/ac
high and low dropped · 2025 county yield 152.9 · rent-per-bushel trend withheld: county yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.15
2016–2025, closed crop years
MD median $4.00 · 7th lowest of 22
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
MD median 41% · 9th lowest of 23
Open on the map Compare Maryland cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 1 oilseed crusher
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Worcester County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from NOPA, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Worcester County, Maryland

Drought, year by year

2000200520102015202020250276

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, 2000–202579 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200227 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–202515 weeks
2026 so far8 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.5 °F1991–2020 normal 68.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.87 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September, usual23.9 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 23.3 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeMar 27, Nov 12middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days225middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September3,347middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 3,485

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024128.0189.7152.9median 151.1

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

Trend for rent per bushelCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
2025 county yield152.9 bu/acall practices
2021-25 average158.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2025151.1 bu/ac18 published years
Lowest published year2010: 89.3 bu/ac59% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.2 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$79$118 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published Maryland county rate, side by side: Maryland cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$118/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+33.3%nominal, $89 to $118
Irrigated, 2013$104/ac
Rent as a share of corn grossCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres (2025)

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel is withheld here: it needs the county trend, and the trend is withheld (see the corn yield section). The calculator below takes your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,232/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,971/ac
Census 2017$5,300/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+55.3%+9.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.36%$112 ÷ $8,232; cropland 72% of land in farms
Maryland cropland, 2026 state survey$9,250/ac+2.9% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Maryland farm real estate, 2026$9,950/acland and buildings, state average
Maryland pasture, 2026$8,300/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Maryland average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Worcester County.

PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Worcester County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920240.281.750.741.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 2004 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$3.15
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.41claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.45$22.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 21crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Worst year2010ratio 1.75, of the 21 crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 62% · excess moisture 19% · other 9%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

19861991199620012006201120162021186,7343,536

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,536 ac4.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2027–2029662 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$260/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20228%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,188 ac
Farmed no-till, 202264% of cropland48,246 ac
Cover crops, 202234% of cropland25,821 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202518.4 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022394−19.3% since 2017
Hogs and pigs, 2022546head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Worcester County, Maryland change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Worcester County$118n/a$8,232151.1$3.15
Sussex County, DE$106n/a$9,642165.1$3.66
Somerset County$102n/a$7,951147.2$3.65
Wicomico County$114$193 2025$7,641135.2$6.54
Accomack County, VA$112n/a$5,045156.9$10.21
Median next door$109n/a$7,796152.1$5.10

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Worcester County, Maryland. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/maryland/worcester-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).