Farmland Atlas · county record

Bledsoe County, Tennessee

Bledsoe County, TN: non-irrigated cash rent $80 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,089 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 140.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 47007. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Bledsoe County runs $80 per acre in 2026, up 6 percent from 2016. Census land value stands at $4,089 per acre, with the 2017-2022 change at 18.7 percent, 3.5 percent a year. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, at 38 percent of $15.6 million paid, and that share has moved from 34 percent in 2000-2009 to 36 percent in 2010-2019 to 42 percent in 2020-2025. July nightly lows have warmed from a 65.7 F normal to 67.2 F over 2017-2026, part of a 0.49 F per decade trend since 1976. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, and drought weeks ran 32 of the possible total in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$80/ac
2026 county average
TN median $65 · 34th highest of 87
Cash rent, irrigated
$149/ac
2012 county average
too few 2012 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,089/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TN median $5,131 · 23rd lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2009–2023 median
140.0 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 167.2
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$25.41
2016–2025, closed crop years
TN median $8.40 · 5th highest of 71
Farmland rented
25%
2022 census, rented from others
TN median 28% · 36th lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$37$80 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$80/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+6.0%nominal, $75 to $80
Irrigated, 2012$149/ac
Pasture, 2026$41/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.48$80 ÷ 167.2 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,089/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,506/ac
Census 2017$3,445/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.7%+3.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 39% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20092011201320152017201920212023133.0100.4120.8127.3115.8140.0140.0155.5175.3153.4174.5171.5median 140.0

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

Median, 2009–2023140.0 bu/ac12 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023167.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 100.4 bu/ac72% of median
Trend, 2009–2023+4.6 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

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$25.41
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.27claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.59$15.6 million paid
Worst year2025ratio 0.67
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 38% · excess moisture 34% · other 26%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020258506

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, 2000–2025145 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200850 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202532 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.2 °F1991–2020 normal 65.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.49 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland116 ac
Farmed no-till, 202217% of cropland5,525 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland1,449 ac
198619911996200120062011201620217072,11418

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

CRP enrolled, 202518 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Cattle and calves, 202221,005−8.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202225%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Bledsoe County$80$4,089$25.41
Cumberland County$94$5,023—
Hamilton County$29$8,551—
Rhea County$26$5,301$18.74
Sequatchie County$49 2025$4,508$17.98
Van Buren County$26 2025$4,510—
Median next door$29$5,023$18.36 2 co.

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. Bledsoe County, Tennessee. 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/tennessee/bledsoe-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.