Farmland Atlas · county record

Cumberland County, North Carolina

Cumberland County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $105 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,708 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 99.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37051. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cumberland County averages $105 per acre for 2026, up 59.1 percent from 2016. Land value was $5,708 per acre in the 2022 census, up 10.5 percent from 2017 to 2022, 2 percent a year. Corn yields trend up 1.8 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 99.5 bushels per acre and a worst year of 55.5 in 2011. July nights average 71.4 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 70.7 F, and the July nightly low has warmed 0.47 F per decade since 1976. Heat and drought caused 40 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, the largest single cause, with the loss ratio at 1.49 over that period and 1.42 over 2016-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$105/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · tied for 25th highest of 85
Cash rent, irrigated
$100/ac
2017 county average
too few 2017 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$5,708/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 46th lowest of 92
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
99.5 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 104.7
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$27.85
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 5th highest of 78
Farmland rented
31%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 41st lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$59$105 dry$75$100 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$105/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+59.1%nominal, $66 to $105
Irrigated, 2017$100/ac
Pasture, 2025$43/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.00$105 ÷ 104.7 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,708/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,121/ac
Census 2017$5,166/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+10.5%+2.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.74%$100 ÷ $5,708; cropland 57% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202484.0153.269.3median 99.5

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

Median, 2008–202499.5 bu/ac14 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024104.7 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 55.5 bu/ac56% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.8 bu/ac a year±2.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820231.932.581.281.00: 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$27.85
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.42claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.49$117.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium18 of 23
Worst year2018ratio 2.58
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 40% · excess moisture 32% · wind 17%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250340

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, 2000–202591 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200234 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.4 °F1991–2020 normal 70.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.47 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20228%
Drained by tile, 20224% of cropland1,331 ac
Farmed no-till, 202241% of cropland15,325 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland3,058 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101,633270

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

CRP enrolled, 2025270 ac0.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202815 ac6% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$104/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025138.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,818−6.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202231%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cumberland County$105—$5,708—$27.85
Bladen County$83$136$4,093111.9$26.43
Harnett County$121$200 2023$6,229—$19.88
Hoke County$61 2025—$5,488—$7.65
Moore County$59$125 2023$5,542—$22.67
Robeson County$75—$3,897110.5$17.73
Sampson County$120$125$5,166109.9$17.28
Median next door$83$131 2 co.$5,327110.5$18.81

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. Cumberland 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/cumberland-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.