Farmland Atlas · county record

Athens County, Ohio

Athens County, OH: non-irrigated cash rent $55 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,123 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 151.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 39009. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Athens County sits at $55 per acre for 2026, unchanged from 2016. July nightly lows averaged 63.9 F for 2017-2026 against a 1991-2020 normal of 62.3 F, warming at 0.52 F per decade since 1976. Solar and wind stand at 0 MW operating and 0 MW proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$55/ac
2026 county average
OH median $168 · 7th lowest of 76
Land and buildings
$4,123/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
OH median $7,956 · 5th lowest of 87
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.34
$55 ÷ 159.5 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
151.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 159.5
OH median 169.9 · 14th lowest of 69
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.47
2016–2025, closed crop years
OH median $4.69 · 12th highest of 83
Farmland rented
18%
2022 census, rented from others
OH median 37% · 8th lowest of 87

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602014201620182020202220242026$53$55 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$55/ac
Change 2016 to 20260.0%nominal, $55 to $55
Pasture, 2026$15/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.34$55 ÷ 159.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,123/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,781/ac
Census 2017$3,213/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.3%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 27% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024132.0195.9151.2median 151.8

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

Median, 2008–2025151.8 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025159.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 114.9 bu/ac76% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.4 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

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$8.47
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.80claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.77$3.6 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 50% · heat and drought 37% · other 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250190

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, 2000–202523 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202419 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.9 °F1991–2020 normal 62.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.52 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 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
Drained by tile, 20224% of cropland1,036 ac
Farmed no-till, 202220% of cropland5,639 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland1,613 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210999796

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

CRP enrolled, 2025796 ac3.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028248 ac31% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$77/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record3Ohio DNR water well logs
Median well depth100 ft
Cattle and calves, 20227,389−25.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202218%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Athens County$55$4,123151.8$8.47
Hocking County$101 2025$6,488—$9.87
Meigs County$55 2025$3,816143.5$13.09
Morgan County$56$4,363140.3$9.64
Perry County$103$6,172—$5.49
Vinton County$56 2025$4,236—$10.40
Washington County$65$4,671154.0$8.60
Wood County, WV$55$4,290——
Median next door$61$4,363143.5$9.76

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. Athens County, Ohio. 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/ohio/athens-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.