Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Norfolk County, MA: non-irrigated cash rent $73 an acre (2021); land and buildings $20,134 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 25021. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Norfolk County had 9,435 acres in farms in the 2022 census. County averages here describe very little farmland; read them with care.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Norfolk County ran $73 per acre in 2021, and irrigated cash rent reached $451 per acre by 2026. Land value in the Census stood at $20,134 per acre in 2022, up 17.4 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 3.3 percent a year. Crop insurance indemnities from 1996-2025 totaled $167,045, with freeze and frost the largest cause at 29 percent. July nights have warmed since 1976 at 0.94 F per decade, and the 2017-2026 average nightly low of 64 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 62.2 F; drought held at 4.2 percent of weeks from 2000-2025, with 2016 the worst year at 22 weeks and 18 weeks logged from 2021-2025.
too few 2021 county surveys in the state to compare
MA median $268
MA median $14,377
MA median 15%
Cash rent
Land value
Corn yield
Crop insurance record
Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1996. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk County | — | $451 | $20,134 | — |
| Bristol County | $101 | $273 2025 | $21,221 | — |
| Middlesex County | $65 | $122 | $22,138 | $9.39 |
| Plymouth County | $82 | — | $14,377 | $1.71 |
| Suffolk County | — | — | $52,340 | — |
| Worcester County | $61 | $320 2025 | $15,447 | $12.15 |
| Providence County, RI | — | — | $18,606 | — |
| Median next door | $73 | $122 1 co. | $19,914 | $9.39 |
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. Norfolk 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/norfolk-countyEvery 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.