Farmland Atlas · county record

Wayne County, Mississippi

Wayne County, MS: non-irrigated cash rent $23 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,372 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 1.27 since 1995. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 28153. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wayne County stands at $23 per acre, down 45.2 percent from 2016 to 2026. July nights average 71.9 F for 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 70.6 F, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.51 F per decade, warming. Only 1 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated. Crop insurance indemnities from 1995-2025 total $2.1 million, led by freeze and frost at 39 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities fell from 40 percent in 1989-1999 to 21 percent in 2010-2019 to 0 percent in 2020-2025. Land value rose 8.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, and no solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$23/ac
2026 county average
MS median $67 · tied for 8th lowest of 71
Land and buildings
$3,372/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MS median $3,313 · 39th highest of 82
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 18% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
13%
2022 census, rented from others
MS median 24% · 14th lowest of 82

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$502010201520202025$29$23 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$23/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−45.2%nominal, $42 to $23
Pasture, 2026$22/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,372/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,914/ac
Census 2017$3,096/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+8.9%+1.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 18% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1995. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Loss ratio, 1995–20251.27$2.1 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1995–2025freeze 39% · excess moisture 20% · heat and drought 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025290

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, 2000–202592 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200029 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.9 °F1991–2020 normal 70.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.51 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September30.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 115% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland278 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland2,366 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland464 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211301,037226

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

CRP enrolled, 2025226 ac1.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028128 ac57% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$22/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202211,453−27.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202213%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Wayne County$23$3,372—
Choctaw County, AL$15$2,456—
Washington County, AL$39 2025$2,714$5.28
Clarke County$23$3,758—
Greene County$29$4,071—
Jasper County$20$3,476—
Jones County$42$4,661$14.78
Perry County—$3,656$7.90
Median next door$23$3,656$7.90

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. Wayne 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/wayne-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.