Farmland Atlas · county record

Harnett County, North Carolina

Harnett County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $121 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,229 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 107.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37085. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Harnett County averages $121 per acre in 2026, up 26 percent from 2016. Land carries a census value of $6,229 per acre, with a change of 11.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 2.2 percent a year. Corn yields show no trend over 2008-2025, holding at a median of 107 bushels per acre, though 2024 fell to 43.2. Heat and drought drove 38 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, with the share at 25 percent in 1989-1999, 49 percent in 2000-2009, 38 percent in 2010-2019, and 37 percent in 2020-2025. July nightly lows have warmed at 0.55 F per decade since 1976, and irrigation covers 2 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$121/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · tied for 14th highest of 85
Cash rent, irrigated
$200/ac
2023 county average
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,229/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 37th highest of 92
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
107.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 121.6
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$19.88
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 21st highest of 78
Farmland rented
53%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 17th highest of 94

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$56$121 dry$79$200 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$121/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+26.0%nominal, $96 to $121
Irrigated, 2023$200/ac
Pasture, 2026$49/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.00$121 ÷ 121.6 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,229/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,349/ac
Census 2017$5,575/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+11.7%+2.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.75%$109 ÷ $6,229; cropland 70% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024105.0130.858.897.5106.9140.0117.7157.443.2107.0median 107.0

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

Median, 2008–2025107.0 bu/ac10 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025121.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2024: 43.2 bu/ac40% of median
Trend, 2008–20250.0 bu/ac a year±5.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1997200220072012201720222.383.100.731.00: 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$19.88
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.42claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.36$153.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium15 of 29
Worst year2018ratio 3.10
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 38% · excess moisture 29% · wind 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250360

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+ weeks200236 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20254 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.8 °F1991–2020 normal 69.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.55 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 111% 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, 20222%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,135 ac
Farmed no-till, 202240% of cropland30,075 ac
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland7,991 ac
198619911996200120062011201620219805,455696

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

CRP enrolled, 2025696 ac1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202878 ac11% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$95/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202551.7 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,822−25.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202253%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Harnett County$121$200 2023$6,229—$19.88
Chatham County$41—$7,656—$26.63
Cumberland County$105—$5,708—$27.85
Johnston County$114—$6,813104.5$15.48
Lee County$80—$7,066—$24.10
Moore County$59$125 2023$5,542—$22.67
Sampson County$120$125$5,166109.9$17.28
Wake County$83$91 2023$14,718—$15.99
Median next door$83$125 1 co.$6,813107.2 2 co.$22.67

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. Harnett 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/harnett-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.