Farmland Atlas · county record

Brown County, Ohio

Brown County, OH: non-irrigated cash rent $161 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,850 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 172.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 39015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Brown County runs $161 per acre, up 43.8 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $5,850 per acre, up 32.7 percent from 2017 to 2022. Corn yield trend runs 2.4 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 172.9 bushels per acre and a worst year of 123.8 in 2012. Excess moisture and flood account for 53 percent of crop insurance indemnities paid from 1989-2025, more than heat and drought in any of the listed periods. Drought weeks in severe drought or worse ran 29 of 1357 from 2000-2025, and none from 2021-2025. Irrigated cropland share, 2022 census, is 0 percent.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$161/ac
2026 county average
OH median $168 · 36th lowest of 76
Land and buildings
$5,850/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
OH median $7,956 · 21st lowest of 87
Rent as % of land value
2.5%
$146 dry rent ÷ $5,850 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
172.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 176.7
OH median 169.9 · 25th highest of 69
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.16
2016–2025, closed crop years
OH median $4.69 · 21st highest of 83
Farmland rented
29%
2022 census, rented from others
OH median 37% · 29th lowest of 87

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$76$161 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$161/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+43.8%nominal, $112 to $161
Pasture, 2025$31/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.91$161 ÷ 176.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,850/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,602/ac
Census 2017$4,408/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.7%+5.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.5%$146 ÷ $5,850; cropland 69% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024124.0210.7163.3median 172.9

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

Median, 2008–2025172.9 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025176.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 123.8 bu/ac72% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920240.672.131.00: 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$6.16
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.59$52.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 22
Worst year2025ratio 2.13
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 53% · heat and drought 28% · area plans 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250170

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, 2000–202529 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200717 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.1 °F1991–2020 normal 63.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.29 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 108% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland6,428 ac
Farmed no-till, 202256% of cropland68,829 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland8,166 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021434,209948

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

CRP enrolled, 2025948 ac0.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028389 ac41% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$148/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record3Ohio DNR water well logs
Median well depth125 ft
Solar and wind operating, 2025200 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202214,328−3.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Brown County$161$5,850172.9$6.16
Bracken County, KY$71$3,229—$10.41
Mason County, KY$90$4,053146.6$10.42
Adams County$136$5,254150.8$8.63
Clermont County$129$7,599—$5.30
Clinton County$170$8,247193.5$2.83
Highland County$173$6,081174.9$6.69
Median next door$133$5,668162.9$7.66

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. Brown 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/brown-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.