Farmland Atlas · county record

Clay County, Mississippi

Clay County, MS: non-irrigated cash rent $30 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,289 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 138.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 28025. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Clay County runs $30 per acre in 2026, down 16.7 percent from 2016. Land value sits at $2,289 per acre, up 21.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, 4 percent a year. No cropland here is irrigated, per the 2022 census. July nights average 72.4 F over 2017-2026, against a 70.6 F normal for 1991-2020, warming at 0.47 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$30/ac
2026 county average
MS median $67 · 14th lowest of 71
Land and buildings
$2,289/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MS median $3,313 · 6th lowest of 82
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.20
$30 ÷ 151.3 bu, recent yield 2019–2023
Corn yield, 2009–2023 median
138.4 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 151.3
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
MS median $10.48 · 23rd highest of 59
Farmland rented
24%
2022 census, rented from others
MS median 24% · 41st lowest of 82

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602010201520202025$48$30 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$30/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−16.7%nominal, $36 to $30
Pasture, 2026$18/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.20$30 ÷ 151.3 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,289/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,639/ac
Census 2017$1,877/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+21.9%+4.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 35% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

2009201120132015201720192021202375.0116.1116.9151.3162.7138.4167.6117.1164.1median 138.4

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

Median, 2009–2023138.4 bu/ac9 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023151.3 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2009: 75.0 bu/ac54% of median

Crop insurance record

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$11.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.90claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$10.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 60% · heat and drought 26% · area plans 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202519230

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, 2000–2025109 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201623 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202525 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.4 °F1991–2020 normal 70.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.47 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland25 ac
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland719 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland1,299 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,91423,4235,983

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,983 ac14.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,772 ac30% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$58/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202216,433−14.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202224%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Clay County$30—$2,289—$11.52
Chickasaw County$89$165$2,388—$10.88
Lowndes County$48—$3,174157.8$12.93
Monroe County$83—$2,359123.1$14.97
Oktibbeha County$55—$2,845—$28.86
Webster County$125—$2,215150.0$5.88
Median next door$83$165 1 co.$2,388150.0$12.93

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. Clay County, Mississippi. 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/mississippi/clay-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.