Farmland Atlas · county record

Lenoir County, North Carolina

Lenoir County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $126 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,327 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 116.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37107. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lenoir County is $126 per acre in 2026, up 48.2 percent from 2016. Census land value stands at $4,327 per acre, up 8.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, 1.7 percent a year. Rent equals 2.43 percent of that census value as of 2022. July nights average 70.6 F over 2017-2026, against a 70 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July nightly low has warmed 0.54 F per decade since 1976. Only 4 percent of harvested cropland was irrigated as of the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$126/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · tied for 10th highest of 85
Cash rent, irrigated
$144/ac
2014 county average
too few 2014 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,327/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 23rd lowest of 92
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
116.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 136.8
NC median 114.8 · 23rd highest of 49
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$17.50
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 28th highest of 78
Farmland rented
55%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 13th highest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$61$126 dry$75$144 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$126/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+48.2%nominal, $85 to $126
Irrigated, 2014$144/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.92$126 ÷ 136.8 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,327/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,375/ac
Census 2017$3,980/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+8.7%+1.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.43%$105 ÷ $4,327; cropland 77% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202435.0152.4124.6median 116.1

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

Median, 2008–2025116.1 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025136.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 35.0 bu/ac30% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.6 bu/ac a year±2.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020252.762.800.771.00: 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$17.50
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.05claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.16$185.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium17 of 31
Worst year2011ratio 2.80
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 37% · excess moisture 28% · wind 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250192

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, 2000–202586 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200719 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.6 °F1991–2020 normal 70.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.54 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September31.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20224%
Drained by tile, 202212% of cropland12,789 ac
Farmed no-till, 202227% of cropland28,303 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland7,717 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021181,668192

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

CRP enrolled, 2025192 ac0.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202894 ac49% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$106/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025156 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,303+16.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202255%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lenoir County$126—$4,327116.1$17.50
Craven County$93—$3,063117.3$20.66
Duplin County$89$131$5,713112.5$13.47
Greene County$136—$4,677104.5$15.84
Jones County$91 2025—$3,602—$26.43
Pitt County$123—$4,126105.9$15.47
Wayne County$134—$4,258107.2$13.94
Median next door$123$131 1 co.$4,192107.2$15.66

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. Lenoir 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/lenoir-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.