Farmland Atlas · county record

Sunflower County, Mississippi

Sunflower County, MS: non-irrigated cash rent $123 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,042 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 28133. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Sunflower County runs $123 per acre in 2026, up 32.3 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $178 per acre, a multiple of 1.45 over non-irrigated, against 1.22 in 2008, with no clear direction in that multiple over time. Irrigation covers 69 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, drawing 95 percent of its water from groundwater. Census land value sits at $4,042 per acre, up 26.9 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$123/ac
2026 county average
MS median $67 · tied for 13th highest of 71
Cash rent, irrigated
$178/ac
2026 county average
MS median $189 · 7th lowest of 20
Land and buildings
$4,042/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MS median $3,313 · 15th highest of 82
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
185.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 196.7 · irrigated and dryland combined
MS median 173.4 · 5th highest of 23
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.63
2016–2025, closed crop years
MS median $10.48 · tied for 23rd lowest of 59
Farmland rented
69%
2022 census, rented from others
MS median 24% · 4th highest of 82

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$86$123 dry$105$178 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$123/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+32.3%nominal, $93 to $123
Irrigated, 2026$178/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,042/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,951/ac
Census 2017$3,184/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+26.9%+4.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 69% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024160.0209.5192.2median 185.9

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

Median, 2008–2025185.9 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025196.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 129.8 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.7 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19941999200420092014201920240.792.391.471.00: 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$9.63
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.10claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.16$300.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium17 of 32
Worst year2001ratio 2.39
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 49% · heat and drought 38% · other 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025270

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, 2000–2025122 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200027 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202534 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202673.9 °F1991–2020 normal 72.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.40 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% 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, 202269%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland3,000 ac
Farmed no-till, 202212% of cropland42,011 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland15,539 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021349,4566,784

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

CRP enrolled, 20256,784 ac2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,294 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$138/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025199 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022137−50.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202269%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Sunflower County$123$178$4,042185.9$9.63
Bolivar County$123$182$4,310179.4$8.76
Coahoma County$155$193$3,910180.4$10.98
Humphreys County$153$203$3,509185.8$10.15
Leflore County$140$187$3,665192.1$6.70
Tallahatchie County$147$204$3,576175.9$9.42
Washington County$172$190$4,488192.5$4.96
Median next door$150$192$3,788183.1$9.09

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. Sunflower 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/sunflower-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.