Farmland Atlas · county record

Polk County, North Carolina

Polk County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $33 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,577 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 1.88 since 1989. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37149. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Polk County runs $33 per acre. Census land and buildings value stood at $7,577 per acre in 2022, up 17.6 percent from 2017, or 3.3 percent a year. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $13.8 million, with freeze and frost the largest cause at 52 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities ran 11 percent in 1989-1999, 7 percent in 2000-2009, 14 percent in 2010-2019, and 3 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks were 228 of 1357 from 2000-2025, and 8 from 2021-2025. No solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$33/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · lowest of 85
Land and buildings
$7,577/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 19th highest of 92
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$57.98
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · highest of 78
Farmland rented
13%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40202120222023202420252026$37$33 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$33/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,577/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,332/ac
Census 2017$6,442/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+17.6%+3.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

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$57.98
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.31claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.88$13.8 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 52% · hail 19% · heat and drought 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202528530

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, 2000–2025228 of 1,357 weeks17% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200853 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20258 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.8 °F1991–2020 normal 66.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.06 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September29.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.7 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
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland141 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland254 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202117959111

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

CRP enrolled, 202511 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Cattle and calves, 20222,670−13.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202213%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Polk County$33—$7,577$57.98
Henderson County$117$190$11,065$55.53
Rutherford County$44—$7,087$18.76
Greenville County, SC$28—$12,103$16.39
Spartanburg County, SC$27—$9,453$20.59
Median next door$36$190 1 co.$10,259$19.68

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. Polk 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/polk-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.