Farmland Atlas · county record

Madison County, Mississippi

Madison County, MS: non-irrigated cash rent $70 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,486 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 153.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 28089. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Madison County runs $70 per acre, up 12 percent from 2016 to 2026. None of the harvested cropland is irrigated, per the 2022 census. Corn yields have trended up 4.9 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 153.9 bushels per acre and a worst year of 71.1 in 2011. July nights average 72.8 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 70.9 F, and the July nightly low has warmed 0.5 F per decade since 1976. Heat and drought account for 41 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, with the loss ratio at 0.82 over the ten closed crop years 2016-2025 versus 0.71 over 1989-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$70/ac
2026 county average
MS median $67 · 34th highest of 71
Land and buildings
$3,486/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MS median $3,313 · 33rd highest of 82
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.41
$70 ÷ 169.0 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
153.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 169.0
MS median 173.4 · 7th lowest of 23
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.36
2016–2025, closed crop years
MS median $10.48 · 9th lowest of 59
Farmland rented
24%
2022 census, rented from others
MS median 24% · 40th highest of 82

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$60$70 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$70/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+12.0%nominal, $63 to $70
Pasture, 2026$22/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.41$70 ÷ 169.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,486/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,619/ac
Census 2017$2,628/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.6%+5.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 37% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024112.0182.5173.6median 153.9

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

Median, 2008–2025153.9 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025169.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 71.1 bu/ac46% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.9 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20112016202120231.170.140.251.081.371.00: 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$6.36
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.82claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.71$13.9 million paid
Worst year2023ratio 1.37
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 41% · excess moisture 40% · other 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025250

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, 2000–2025102 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200025 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202525 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.8 °F1991–2020 normal 70.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.50 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 113% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.3 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, 20222% of cropland1,741 ac
Farmed no-till, 202226% of cropland18,947 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland1,632 ac
198619911996200120062011201620216,53141,55512,643

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

CRP enrolled, 202512,643 ac20.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,496 ac20% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$62/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025100 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20229,645−31.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202224%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Madison County$70—$3,486153.9$6.36
Attala County$85—$2,239—$13.59
Hinds County$66—$3,474146.7$11.10
Leake County$41—$3,798——
Rankin County$70—$4,054—$8.18
Scott County$46—$3,382—$5.89
Yazoo County$152$195$3,216175.3$13.17
Median next door$68$195 1 co.$3,428161.0 2 co.$11.10

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. Madison 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/madison-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.