Farmland Atlas · county record

Fentress County, Tennessee

Fentress County, TN: non-irrigated cash rent $40 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,211 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 122.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 47049. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Fentress County averages $40 per acre in 2026, down 35.2 percent from 2016. Cropland here is 1 percent irrigated, so yields track rainfall closely. Corn yields rose 3 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 122.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 70 in 2012. Heat and drought accounted for 23 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999, 48 percent in 2010-2019, and 51 percent in 2020-2025. July nights average 65.8 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 64.2 F, with a warming trend of 0.62 F per decade since 1976. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$40/ac
2026 county average
TN median $65 · 19th lowest of 87
Land and buildings
$4,211/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TN median $5,131 · 27th lowest of 93
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.26
$40 ÷ 154.2 bu, recent yield 2020–2024
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
122.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 154.2
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
27%
2022 census, rented from others
TN median 28% · 41st lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602010201520202025$32$40 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$40/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−35.2%nominal, $61 to $40
Pasture, 2026$33/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.26$40 ÷ 154.2 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,211/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,207/ac
Census 2017$3,472/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+21.3%+3.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 26% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202494.0162.280.3median 122.2

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

Median, 2008–2024122.2 bu/ac13 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024154.2 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 70.0 bu/ac57% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+3.0 bu/ac a year±3.7 (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.

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 41% · excess moisture 35% · other 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020253300

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, 2000–202577 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200730 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202515 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.8 °F1991–2020 normal 64.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.62 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% 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, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland397 ac
Farmed no-till, 20228% of cropland2,339 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland457 ac
198619911996200120062011201620214271,4990

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Cattle and calves, 202235,972+37.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202227%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Fentress County$40$4,211—
Cumberland County$94$5,023—
Morgan County$53$4,274—
Overton County$69$4,036$4.40
Pickett County$40$4,393—
Putnam County$75$5,779$6.40
Scott County$20$3,689—
Median next door$61$4,334$5.40 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. Fentress 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/fentress-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.