County farm facts

Washington County, North Carolina

Washington County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $136 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,152 an acre in the 2022 census; corn 14-yr trend 154.5 bu/ac. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37187. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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Stands out against its own record

13 weeks

With half the county or more in severe drought (D2) or worse in 2026 so far, the most since 2007 (14 weeks).

U.S. Drought Monitor weekly maps, 2000 to 2026 (40 maps this year)

As of Oct 16, cash rent in Washington County runs $136 an acre for 2026, tied for 4th highest of 86 in North Carolina and well over the state median of $81. That is up 7.9% from $126 in 2016. The census value of land and buildings was $4,152 an acre in 2022, up 13.2% from 2017, yet still 19th lowest of 92 against a state median of $5,711. The corn trend sits at 154.5 bu, 9th highest of 37, and 70% of the farmland was rented in 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$136/ac
2026 county average
NC median $81 · tied for 4th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$4,152/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · NC farm real estate 2026: $5,750 (land and buildings, state survey)
NC median $5,711 · 19th lowest of 92
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.88
$136 ÷ 154.5 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
Corn yield, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
154.5 bu/ac
all practices trend · 2025 county yield 172.3 · 2021-25 average 157.2 (all practices)
NC median 134.6 · 9th highest of 37
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.72
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 17th lowest of 78
Farmland rented
70%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 4th highest of 94
Open on the map Compare North Carolina cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 1 oilseed crusher
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Washington County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from NOPA, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Washington County, North Carolina

Drought, year by year

2000200520102015202020250148

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, 2000–202565 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200714 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–202513 weeks
2026 so far13 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.5 °F1991–2020 normal 70.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.67 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September, usual30.3 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 31.5 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeMar 16, Nov 18middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days250middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September3,721middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 3,806

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202487.0172.3median 149.0

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

14-yr trend (projected 2026)154.5 bu/acall practices county yields, 12 years, R² 0.01; the figure rent per bushel uses
2025 county yield172.3 bu/acall practices
2021-25 average157.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2025149.0 bu/ac16 published years
Lowest published year2011: 81.3 bu/ac55% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.6 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$101$136 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published North Carolina county rate, side by side: North Carolina cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$136/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+7.9%nominal, $126 to $136
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.88$136 ÷ 154.5 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026), all practices
Rent as a share of corn gross, 202517.0%$139 non-irrigated rent 2025 ÷ (172.3 bu, 2025 county yield, all practices × $4.75 North Carolina price received); the county reports no irrigated corn; the 2025 price is preliminary

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel uses this year's rent over the 14-yr trend. The calculator below starts from that trend and lets you put in your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,152/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,017/ac
Census 2017$3,668/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+13.2%+2.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census valueNASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
North Carolina cropland, 2026 state survey$5,580/ac+4.1% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
North Carolina farm real estate, 2026$5,750/acland and buildings, state average
North Carolina pasture, 2026$6,380/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the North Carolina average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Washington County.

PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Washington County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620210.961.980.241.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 2001 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$7.72
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.61claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.72$77.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 25crop years 2001–2025 with a loss ratio
Worst year2016ratio 1.98, of the 25 crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 41% · heat and drought 29% · wind 16%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

1986199119962001200620112016202101,960166

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

CRP enrolled, 2025166 ac0.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2027–20290 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$148/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20225%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,500 ac
Farmed no-till, 202225% of cropland17,557 ac
Solar and wind operating, 2025149.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022584−20.4% since 2017
Beef cows, 2022244head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202270%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Washington County, North Carolina change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Washington County$136$4,152149.0$7.72
Beaufort County$130$4,329136.1$12.51
Bertie County$133$4,072122.8$6.56
Hyde County$182$3,814n/a$7.36
Martin County$116$3,01198.5$8.85
Tyrrell County$181$3,836145.8$4.66
Median next door$133$3,836129.5$7.36

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Washington County, North Carolina. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/north-carolina/washington-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).