Farmland Atlas · county record

Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Middlesex County, MA: non-irrigated cash rent $65 an acre (2026); land and buildings $22,138 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 25017. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Land value stood at $22,138 per acre in 2022, up 38.8 percent from 2017. July nightly lows average 63 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 61.3 F, with a warming trend of 0.86 F per decade since 1976. Freeze and frost remain the largest indemnity cause at 47 percent.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$65/ac
2026 county average
MA median $82 · 3rd lowest of 9
Cash rent, irrigated
$122/ac
2026 county average
MA median $268 · 2nd lowest of 5
Land and buildings
$22,138/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MA median $14,377 · highest of 9
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.39
2016–2025, closed crop years
MA median $12.15 · 3rd lowest of 7
Farmland rented
17%
2022 census, rented from others
MA median 15% · 3rd highest of 9

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150202120222023202420252026$61$65 dry$98$122 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$65/ac
Irrigated, 2026$122/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$22,138/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$19,135/ac
Census 2017$15,944/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+38.8%+6.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 15% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1995. 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$9.39
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.69claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1995–20250.62$2.3 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1995–2025freeze 47% · heat and drought 23% · hail 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250260

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, 2000–202567 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201626 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202522 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.0 °F1991–2020 normal 61.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.86 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September23.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202215%
Drained by tile, 20226% of cropland709 ac
Farmed no-till, 20228% of cropland994 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland965 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Solar and wind operating, 2025106.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,513+2.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202217%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Middlesex County$65$122$22,138$9.39
Essex County$78$345$20,111—
Norfolk County—$451$20,134—
Suffolk County——$52,340—
Worcester County$61$320 2025$15,447$12.15
Hillsborough County, NH$69 2025—$10,594$13.90
Median next door$69 2 co.$398 2 co.$20,111$13.03 2 co.

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. Middlesex County, Massachusetts. 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/massachusetts/middlesex-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.