Farmland Atlas · county record

Wayne County, Tennessee

Wayne County, TN: non-irrigated cash rent $73 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,142 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 128.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 47181. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wayne County runs $73 per acre, up 19.7 percent from 2016 to 2026. None of the harvested cropland is irrigated, per the 2022 census. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, at 59 percent of $7.6 million paid, and the loss ratio over 2016-2025 is 1.54, above the 1.25 mark for the full 1989-2025 period. The July average nightly low has moved from 66.8 F (1991-2020 normal) to 68.6 F (2017-2026), part of a warming trend of 0.57 F per decade since 1976. Weeks in severe drought or worse ran 26 out of the 2021-2025 stretch. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with 0 MW proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$73/ac
2026 county average
TN median $65 · tied for 38th highest of 87
Land and buildings
$3,142/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TN median $5,131 · 9th lowest of 93
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.51
$73 ÷ 142.1 bu, recent yield 2019–2023
Corn yield, 2009–2023 median
128.9 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 142.1
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$17.33
2016–2025, closed crop years
TN median $8.40 · 18th highest of 71
Farmland rented
24%
2022 census, rented from others
TN median 28% · 34th lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$40$73 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$73/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.7%nominal, $61 to $73
Pasture, 2026$29/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.51$73 ÷ 142.1 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,142/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,014/ac
Census 2017$2,367/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.7%+5.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 24% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20092011201320152017201920212023102.088.6100.450.6122.1150.0122.5158.6144.6135.4139.6146.8median 128.9

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

Median, 2009–2023128.9 bu/ac12 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023142.1 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 50.6 bu/ac39% of median
Trend, 2009–2023+4.7 bu/ac a year±3.5 (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$17.33
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.54claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.25$7.6 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 59% · excess moisture 21% · area plans 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202519280

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, 2000–202586 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200728 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202526 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202668.6 °F1991–2020 normal 66.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.57 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 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, 20222% of cropland494 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland5,340 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland1,805 ac
198619911996200120062011201620217533,4062,448

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,448 ac8.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028673 ac28% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$56/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202226,309−5.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202224%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Wayne County$73$3,142—$17.33
Lauderdale County, AL$79$5,183155.1$7.71
Decatur County$75$2,946—$19.01
Hardin County$92$3,021—$14.69
Lawrence County$131$4,579169.4$7.25
Lewis County$31$3,635——
Perry County$94$3,130—$13.72
Median next door$85$3,383162.3 2 co.$13.72

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. Wayne 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/wayne-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.