Farmland Atlas · county record

Colleton County, South Carolina

Colleton County, SC: non-irrigated cash rent $43 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,789 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 89.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 45029. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Drought has been light lately: 3 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 120 of 1357 weeks over 2000-2025, with 2002 the worst year at 35 weeks. July nights have warmed to 72.8 F over 2017-2026, above the 71.5 F normal for 1991-2020.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$43/ac
2026 county average
SC median $40 · 16th highest of 38
Cash rent, irrigated
$91/ac
2013 county average
too few 2013 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$3,789/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SC median $3,802 · 23rd lowest of 46
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
89.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 101.1
SC median 119.2 · 2nd lowest of 17
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$28.50
2016–2025, closed crop years
SC median $15.63 · 5th highest of 37
Farmland rented
12%
2022 census, rented from others
SC median 21% · 6th lowest of 46

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$30$43 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$43/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+13.3%nominal, $38 to $43
Irrigated, 2013$91/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.42$43 ÷ 101.1 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,789/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,697/ac
Census 2017$3,030/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+25.0%+4.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 19% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202434.0119.3median 89.2

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

Median, 2008–202589.2 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025101.1 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 25.6 bu/ac29% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.6 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620211.452.471.551.00: 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$28.50
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.53claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.45$38.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium10 of 14
Worst year2015ratio 2.47
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 40% · heat and drought 32% · other 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020258350

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, 2000–2025120 of 1,357 weeks9% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200235 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20253 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.8 °F1991–2020 normal 71.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.56 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 112% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20227%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland1,060 ac
Farmed no-till, 202218% of cropland5,726 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland2,095 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021416,4950

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20252.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,668+58.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202212%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Colleton County$43—$3,78989.2$28.50
Bamberg County$39$147$3,550128.4$8.09
Beaufort County——$4,461——
Charleston County$25 2023—$11,145—$12.45
Dorchester County$45—$3,959109.4$14.50
Hampton County$49$105$3,227131.5$11.98
Orangeburg County$50$115$3,291139.6$10.36
Median next door$47$115$3,755130.0$11.98

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. Colleton 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/colleton-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.