Farmland Atlas · county record

Issaquena County, Mississippi

Issaquena County, MS: non-irrigated cash rent $153 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,878 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 188.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 28055. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Issaquena County is $153 per acre in 2026, up 17.7 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs $202 per acre, a multiple of 1.32 over non-irrigated this year, against 1.13 in 2009, with no clear direction over that span. Irrigation covers 43 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, and 95 percent of that water comes from groundwater as of 2015. Crop insurance history leans on water, not heat: excess moisture and flood account for 71 percent of the $64.0 million paid out over 1989-2025, and the loss ratio over 2016-2025 is 1.27, higher than the 0.93 mark for the full 1989-2025 period. Census land value sits at $2,878 per acre, up 5.2 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$153/ac
2026 county average
MS median $67 · tied for 4th highest of 71
Cash rent, irrigated
$202/ac
2026 county average
MS median $189 · 3rd highest of 20
Land and buildings
$2,878/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MS median $3,313 · 24th lowest of 82
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
188.6 bu/ac
16 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
MS median 173.4 · 4th highest of 23
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
MS median $10.48 · 26th highest of 59
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
MS median 24% · 10th highest of 82

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$98$153 dry$110$202 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$153/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+17.7%nominal, $130 to $153
Irrigated, 2026$202/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,878/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,917/ac
Census 2017$2,737/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+5.2%+1.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 43% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024137.0205.5median 188.6

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

Median, 2008–2025188.6 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2009: 117.9 bu/ac63% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.3 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.964.301.341.00: 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$11.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.27claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.93$64.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 22
Worst year2019ratio 4.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 71% · heat and drought 21% · other 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025260

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, 2000–2025129 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200026 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202538 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202673.5 °F1991–2020 normal 72.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.37 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202243%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
1986199119962001200620112016202107,3415,788

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,788 ac6.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,151 ac20% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$120/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Issaquena County$153$202$2,878188.6$11.09
Chicot County, AR$159$165$4,081179.4$7.75
East Carroll Parish, LA$130$183$4,631178.5$6.19
Sharkey County$145$175$3,746194.9$7.89
Warren County$155$190$2,627—$20.48
Washington County$172$190$4,488192.5$4.96
Yazoo County$152$195$3,216175.3$13.17
Median next door$154$187$3,914179.4$7.82

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. Issaquena 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/issaquena-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.