Farmland Atlas · county record

Fairfield County, South Carolina

Fairfield County, SC: non-irrigated cash rent $13 an acre (2024); land and buildings $3,316 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 45039. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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The July nightly low averaged 70.6 F over 2017-2026 against a 69.8 F normal for 1991-2020, part of a warming trend of 0.41 F per decade since 1976. No solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$13/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$3,316/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SC median $3,802 · 14th lowest of 46
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 13% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
14%
2022 census, rented from others
SC median 21% · 9th lowest of 46

Cash rent

$0$10$20201020152020$24$13 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, 2024$13/ac
Change 2014 to 2024−19.4%nominal, $16 to $13
Pasture, 2026$18/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,316/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,791/ac
Census 2017$2,867/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+15.7%+3.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 13% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1995. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202520410

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, 2000–2025177 of 1,357 weeks13% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200241 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20251 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.6 °F1991–2020 normal 69.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.41 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September22.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.3 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, 2022none reported
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland526 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210990

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 20223,266−11.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202214%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Fairfield County$13 2024$3,316—
Chester County$22$3,702$19.92
Kershaw County—$3,888$16.38
Lancaster County$34$5,224$17.02
Newberry County$35 2025$3,891$10.91
Richland County$42$5,124$16.25
Union County$15$3,814—
Median next door$28$3,890$16.38

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. Fairfield 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/fairfield-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.