Farmland Atlas · county record

Lee County, South Carolina

Lee County, SC: non-irrigated cash rent $52 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,655 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 131.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 45061. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Lee County stands at $52 per acre, up 25.3 percent from 2016 to 2026. The land itself carries a census value of $2,655 per acre, with that value up 9.9 percent from 2017 to 2022. Rent takes 1.92 percent of that value. Crop insurance data show heat and drought falling as a share of indemnities across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025: 62 percent, 59 percent, 35 percent, 24 percent. Over 2016-2025, the loss ratio was 0.8, and indemnities per $100 of insured value came to $11.15. Solar stands at 44 MW operating, with 60 MW solar proposed to EIA; wind is 0 MW on both counts.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$52/ac
2026 county average
SC median $40 · 7th highest of 38
Cash rent, irrigated
$135/ac
2021 county average
too few 2021 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$2,655/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SC median $3,802 · lowest of 46
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
131.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 151.5
SC median 119.2 · 4th highest of 17
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.15
2016–2025, closed crop years
SC median $15.63 · 8th lowest of 37
Farmland rented
48%
2022 census, rented from others
SC median 21% · 4th highest of 46

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$38$52 dry$88$135 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$52/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+25.3%nominal, $42 to $52
Irrigated, 2021$135/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.34$52 ÷ 151.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,655/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,265/ac
Census 2017$2,416/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+9.9%+1.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.92%$51 ÷ $2,655; cropland 64% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202456.0165.7146.4median 131.8

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

Median, 2008–2025131.8 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025151.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 56.0 bu/ac43% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.0 bu/ac a year±2.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1999200420092014201920241.292.980.221.00: 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$11.15
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.80claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.72$72.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 27
Worst year2015ratio 2.98
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 35% · excess moisture 29% · area plans 17%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020254350

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, 2000–2025110 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200235 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202510 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.0 °F1991–2020 normal 70.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.60 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% 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, 20226% of cropland5,097 ac
Farmed no-till, 202224% of cropland20,766 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland3,440 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,29513,8754,187

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,187 ac5.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,225 ac29% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$49/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202544 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,099+64.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202248%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lee County$52—$2,655131.8$11.15
Darlington County$47$101 2025$2,794111.2$14.59
Florence County$47—$3,382103.3$24.01
Kershaw County——$3,888—$16.38
Sumter County$50—$3,581134.8$11.71
Median next door$47—$3,482111.2$15.49

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. Lee 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/lee-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.