Farmland Atlas · county record

Surry County, North Carolina

Surry County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $92 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,529 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 144.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37171. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Surry County averages $92 per acre in 2026, up 23.5 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings was $6,529 per acre in 2022, after a change of 46 percent from 2017 to 2022. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, so most ground here answers to rain. Heat and drought account for 38 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, and that share moved from 26 percent in 1989-1999 to 39 percent in 2000-2009 to 42 percent in 2010-2019 to 36 percent in 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 closed crop years is 1.28. July nights have warmed from a 1991-2020 normal of 64.6 F to 66.1 F over 2017-2026, with the 2020s the first decade the average low reached 66 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$92/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · 34th highest of 85
Cash rent, irrigated
$110/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,529/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 33rd highest of 92
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
144.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 158.7
NC median 114.8 · 6th highest of 49
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.67
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 31st lowest of 78
Farmland rented
29%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 32nd lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$54$92 dry$69$110 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$92/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+23.5%nominal, $75 to $92
Irrigated, 2022$110/ac
Pasture, 2026$35/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.58$92 ÷ 158.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,529/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,588/ac
Census 2017$4,471/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+46.0%+7.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 48% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024118.0177.7median 144.7

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

Median, 2008–2025144.7 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025158.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2024: 95.2 bu/ac66% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.7 bu/ac a year±2.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.443.050.671.00: 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$11.67
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.18$37.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 16
Worst year2024ratio 3.05
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 38% · excess moisture 20% · other 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020259380

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, 2000–2025122 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200238 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20256 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.1 °F1991–2020 normal 64.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.59 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 113% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland151 ac
Farmed no-till, 202242% of cropland21,710 ac
Cover crops, 202215% of cropland7,754 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021024059

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

CRP enrolled, 202559 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–202822 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202590.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202217,892−30.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Surry County$92—$6,529144.7$11.67
Alleghany County$99—$5,959——
Forsyth County$72$103$9,658—$24.46
Stokes County$50—$4,842109.3$29.93
Wilkes County$62—$5,664—$22.85
Yadkin County$91—$6,239130.9$10.33
Carroll County, VA$45—$3,866—$58.69
Grayson County, VA$70—$4,673——
Patrick County, VA$43—$3,929—$40.83
Median next door$66$103 1 co.$5,253120.1 2 co.$27.20

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. Surry 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/surry-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.