Farmland Atlas · county record

Pontotoc County, Mississippi

Pontotoc County, MS: non-irrigated cash rent $67 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,758 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 105.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 28115. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Pontotoc County runs $66 per acre, up 7.3 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $2,758 per acre, with land value change 2017-2022 at 40.1 percent, 7 percent a year. No cropland here is irrigated: share of harvested cropland irrigated in 2022 was 0 percent. July nights have warmed, averaging 71.4 F over 2017-2026 against a 69.8 F normal for 1991-2020, with a long trend of 0.37 F per decade, warming. Crop insurance losses over 1989-2025 total $16.4 million, mostly from excess moisture and flood at 52 percent, and the loss ratio rose from 0.82 over 1989-2025 to 0.92 over 2016-2025. Solar and wind capacity here are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$67/ac
2026 county average
MS median $67 · 36th lowest of 71
Land and buildings
$2,758/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MS median $3,313 · 22nd lowest of 82
Rent as % of land value
2.61%
$72 dry rent ÷ $2,758 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
105.8 bu/ac
10 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.96
2016–2025, closed crop years
MS median $10.48 · 26th lowest of 59
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
MS median 24% · 27th highest of 82

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$43$67 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$67/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+7.3%nominal, $62 to $67
Pasture, 2026$16/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,758/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,819/ac
Census 2017$1,968/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+40.1%+7.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.61%$72 ÷ $2,758; cropland 56% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202494.0105.892.1105.787.6136.3144.6152.193.9135.2median 105.8

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

Median, 2008–2025105.8 bu/ac10 published years
Lowest published year2016: 87.6 bu/ac83% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620210.730.530.950.152.411.00: 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$9.96
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.92claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$16.4 million paid
Worst year2025ratio 2.41
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 52% · heat and drought 38% · other 4%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, 2000–202585 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200025 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202528 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.4 °F1991–2020 normal 69.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.37 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 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, 2022under 1% of cropland121 ac
Farmed no-till, 20228% of cropland6,239 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland142 ac
198619911996200120062011201620212,89830,82610,719

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

CRP enrolled, 202510,719 ac14.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028681 ac6% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$69/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202212,888+5.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Pontotoc County$67—$2,758—$9.96
Calhoun County$132$146$2,428155.6$5.39
Chickasaw County$89$165$2,388—$10.88
Lafayette County$101—$3,239—$8.02
Lee County$90—$3,286116.3$13.19
Union County$66—$2,286—$6.25
Median next door$90$156 2 co.$2,428136.0 2 co.$8.02

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. Pontotoc 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/pontotoc-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.