Farmland Atlas · county record

Lincoln County, Tennessee

Lincoln County, TN: non-irrigated cash rent $155 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,222 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 166.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 47103. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lincoln County runs $155 per acre, up 96.2 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $5,222 per acre, up 42.6 percent from 2017 to 2022. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, at 65 percent of $23.0 million paid, and its share has climbed with each period: 48 percent in 1989-1999, 54 percent in 2000-2009, 70 percent in 2010-2019, 75 percent in 2020-2025. July nights average 68.6 F over 2017-2026, against a 67.4 F normal for 1991-2020, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.46 F per decade, warming. Only 5 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, all of it from groundwater.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$155/ac
2026 county average
TN median $65 · 8th highest of 87
Land and buildings
$5,222/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TN median $5,131 · 46th highest of 93
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.92
$155 ÷ 168.3 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
166.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 168.3
TN median 162.2 · 11th highest of 32
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.51
2016–2025, closed crop years
TN median $8.40 · 6th lowest of 71
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
TN median 28% · 30th highest of 94

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$49$155 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$155/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+96.2%nominal, $79 to $155
Pasture, 2026$29/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.92$155 ÷ 168.3 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,222/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,371/ac
Census 2017$3,663/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+42.6%+7.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 36% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024109.0184.6169.1median 166.2

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

Median, 2008–2025166.2 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025168.3 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 74.7 bu/ac45% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.1 bu/ac a year±3.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820230.433.060.491.00: 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$4.51
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.47claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.49$23.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 18
Worst year2024ratio 3.06
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 65% · excess moisture 16% · area plans 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202522426

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, 2000–2025149 of 1,357 weeks11% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200742 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202539 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202668.6 °F1991–2020 normal 67.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.46 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 106% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20225%
Drained by tile, 20227% of cropland7,102 ac
Farmed no-till, 202247% of cropland45,869 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland3,813 ac
198619911996200120062011201620214837,378470

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

CRP enrolled, 2025470 ac0.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028232 ac49% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$74/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025150 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202269,050+1.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lincoln County$155—$5,222166.2$4.51
Limestone County, AL$139$151 2023$4,683159.8$6.78
Madison County, AL$113 2025$131 2024$6,510158.7$5.49
Bedford County$82—$6,187146.7$9.47
Franklin County$173—$5,951172.3$5.57
Giles County$65—$5,260163.3$5.34
Marshall County$70—$5,660—$9.20
Moore County$55—$4,198——
Median next door$76—$5,660159.8$6.18

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. Lincoln 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/lincoln-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.