Farmland Atlas · county record

Gates County, North Carolina

Gates County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $112 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,274 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 130.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37073. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Gates County runs $112 per acre in 2026, up 23.1 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings stood at $4,274 per acre in 2022, up 17.9 percent from 2017, or 3.3 percent a year. Rent as a share of that value was 2.19 percent in 2022. July nights have warmed: the 2017-2026 average low is 70 F, against a 1991-2020 normal of 68.8 F, and the long trend since 1976 runs 0.66 F per decade. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities moved 66 percent in 1989-1999, 70 percent in 2000-2009, 26 percent in 2010-2019, and 40 percent in 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$112/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · tied for 22nd highest of 85
Cash rent, irrigated
$72/ac
2011 county average
too few 2011 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,274/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 21st lowest of 92
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
130.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 149.7
NC median 114.8 · 13th highest of 49
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.57
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 4th lowest of 78
Farmland rented
55%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 14th highest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$65$112 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$112/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+23.1%nominal, $91 to $112
Irrigated, 2011$72/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.75$112 ÷ 149.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,274/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,480/ac
Census 2017$3,625/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+17.9%+3.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.19%$94 ÷ $4,274; cropland 74% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202491.0169.2169.2median 130.1

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

Median, 2008–2025130.1 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025149.7 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 62.0 bu/ac48% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±2.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820230.601.560.421.00: 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$4.57
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.48claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.53$20.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 18
Worst year2016ratio 1.56
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 39% · heat and drought 39% · area plans 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250250

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, 2000–202574 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200225 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20254 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.0 °F1991–2020 normal 68.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.66 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20229%
Drained by tile, 202218% of cropland9,290 ac
Farmed no-till, 202261% of cropland32,224 ac
Cover crops, 202217% of cropland9,120 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101,76016

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

CRP enrolled, 202516 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20284 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202515 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20221,469+260.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202255%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Gates County$112$4,274130.1$4.57
Camden County$120 2025$4,007166.1$2.58
Chowan County$99$3,973141.4$5.67
Hertford County$115$3,623120.2$8.07
Pasquotank County$135$4,382167.0$4.33
Perquimans County$112$3,918144.4$5.15
Southampton County, VA$100$3,618—$3.24
Suffolk City, VA$103$4,816128.7$3.89
Median next door$108$3,973142.9$4.33

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. Gates 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/gates-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.