Farmland Atlas · county record

Shelby County, Tennessee

Shelby County, TN: non-irrigated cash rent $120 an acre (2025); land and buildings $5,264 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 135.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 47157. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Shelby County runs $120 per acre in 2025, up 16.5 percent since 2013. None of the harvested cropland is irrigated, per the 2022 census, though 60 percent of irrigation water drawn locally in 2015 came from groundwater. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 is 0.99, close to breakeven on premium paid.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$120/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$5,264/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TN median $5,131 · 42nd highest of 93
Rent as % of land value
1.78%
$94 dry rent ÷ $5,264 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2018 median
135.2 bu/ac
8 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$10.31
2016–2025, closed crop years
TN median $8.40 · 29th highest of 71
Farmland rented
49%
2022 census, rented from others
TN median 28% · 10th highest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$76$120 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, 2025$120/ac
Change 2013 to 2025+16.5%nominal, $103 to $120
Pasture, 2026$37/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,264/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,586/ac
Census 2017$5,237/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+0.5%+0.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.78%$94 ÷ $5,264; cropland 60% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082009201020112012201320142015201620172018108.0157.0110.2117.9124.8145.6150.0158.0median 135.2

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

Median, 2008–2018135.2 bu/ac8 published years
Lowest published year2008: 108.0 bu/ac80% of median

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.332.201.00: 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$10.31
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.99claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.68$28.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 21
Worst year2025ratio 2.20
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 51% · heat and drought 31% · freeze 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025203

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, 2000–2025103 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200020 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.5 °F1991–2020 normal 71.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.15 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September27.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland144 ac
Farmed no-till, 202267% of cropland36,306 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland1,716 ac
198619911996200120062011201620218949,0801,021

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,021 ac2.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028218 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$109/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202555.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Farmland rented from others, 202249%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Shelby County$120 2025—$5,264—$10.31
Crittenden County, AR$109$157$4,236174.2$7.15
Mississippi County, AR$169$184$4,584174.5$3.74
DeSoto County, MS$110—$4,266—$9.98
Marshall County, MS$79$139$3,043—$8.96
Fayette County$105$125$4,273159.5$6.22
Tipton County$156$172$4,367152.0$4.12
Median next door$110$157$4,270166.9$6.69

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. Shelby 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/shelby-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.