Farmland Atlas · county record

Beaufort County, North Carolina

Beaufort County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $130 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,329 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 136.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37013. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Beaufort County runs $130 per acre in 2026, up 49.4 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 stood at $4,329 per acre, up 26.6 percent from 2017. July nightly lows have warmed 0.51 F per decade since 1976, and the 1991-2020 normal of 70.9 F has since risen to 71.7 F for 2017-2026. Solar operating capacity stands at 142.5 MW; wind operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$130/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · 9th highest of 85
Land and buildings
$4,329/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 24th lowest of 92
Rent as % of land value
2.7%
$117 dry rent ÷ $4,329 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
136.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 149.5
NC median 114.8 · 10th highest of 49
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 33rd lowest of 78
Farmland rented
60%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 10th highest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$71$130 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$130/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+49.4%nominal, $87 to $130
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.87$130 ÷ 149.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,329/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,056/ac
Census 2017$3,420/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+26.6%+4.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.7%$117 ÷ $4,329; cropland 85% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202479.0165.0163.5median 136.1

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

Median, 2008–2025136.1 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025149.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 55.7 bu/ac41% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.1 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1997200220072012201720220.213.190.441.00: 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$12.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.81claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.98$180.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 28
Worst year2011ratio 3.19
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 34% · excess moisture 31% · wind 23%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250137

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, 2000–202562 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201113 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202513 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.7 °F1991–2020 normal 70.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.51 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September31.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland4,089 ac
Farmed no-till, 202228% of cropland33,106 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland2,203 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202102,813215

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

CRP enrolled, 2025215 ac0.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202851 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$128/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025142.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022637+83.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202260%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Beaufort County$130$4,329136.1$12.09
Craven County$93$3,063117.3$20.66
Hyde County$182$3,814—$7.36
Martin County$116$3,01198.5$8.85
Pamlico County$99$3,222144.5$10.49
Pitt County$123$4,126105.9$15.47
Washington County$136$4,152149.0$7.72
Median next door$120$3,518117.3$9.67

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. Beaufort County, North Carolina. 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/north-carolina/beaufort-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.