Farmland Atlas · county record

Barnwell County, South Carolina

Barnwell County, SC: non-irrigated cash rent $44 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,749 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 120.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 45011. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Barnwell County runs $44 per acre in 2026, up 12.8 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $72 per acre, a multiple of 1.64 over non-irrigated in 2026, compared with 1.27 in 2009, with no clear direction in that multiple over time. July nights average 71.4 F over 2017-2026, against a 70.4 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.41 F per decade, warming. Drought was heaviest in 2002, with 45 weeks in severe drought or worse, and only 3 weeks over 2021-2025. Heat and drought's share of indemnities moved 43 percent, 75 percent, 43 percent, 12 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. Census land value stands at $3,749 per acre, up 34.6 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$44/ac
2026 county average
SC median $40 · 15th highest of 38
Cash rent, irrigated
$72/ac
2026 county average
SC median $111 · lowest of 7
Land and buildings
$3,749/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SC median $3,802 · 22nd lowest of 46
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
120.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 132.2 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.64
2016–2025, closed crop years
SC median $15.63 · 2nd lowest of 37
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
SC median 21% · 14th highest of 46

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$30$44 dry$38$72 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$44/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+12.8%nominal, $39 to $44
Irrigated, 2026$72/ac
Pasture, 2026$34/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,749/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,437/ac
Census 2017$2,785/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+34.6%+6.1% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 23% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202434.0150.5125.7median 120.7

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

Median, 2008–2025120.7 bu/ac14 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025132.2 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 34.0 bu/ac28% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.5 bu/ac a year±2.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620210.430.040.730.120.470.821.440.271.00: 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$6.64
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.58claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.56$11.7 million paid
Worst year2024ratio 1.44
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 36% · wind 28% · excess moisture 17%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202524453

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, 2000–2025194 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200245 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20253 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.4 °F1991–2020 normal 70.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.41 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 116% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 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, 20222% of cropland470 ac
Farmed no-till, 202211% of cropland2,928 ac
Cover crops, 202225% of cropland6,819 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202127919,415205

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

CRP enrolled, 2025205 ac1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202812 ac6% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$32/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202541 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,493−47.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Barnwell County$44$72$3,749—$6.64
Burke County, GA$48$182$2,857191.1$10.40
Aiken County$41$111$5,606—$20.51
Allendale County$38$78 2025$2,96491.0$15.63
Bamberg County$39$147$3,550128.4$8.09
Orangeburg County$50$115$3,291139.6$10.36
Median next door$41$131$3,291134.0$10.40

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. Barnwell County, South 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/south-carolina/barnwell-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.