Farmland Atlas · county record

Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $105 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,594 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 146.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Augusta County runs $105 per acre in 2026, up 87.5 percent from 2016. July nights have warmed to a 63.2 F average low for 2017-2026, above the 61.6 F normal for 1991-2020.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$105/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · tied for 4th highest of 84
Cash rent, irrigated
$83/ac
2016 county average
too few 2016 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$7,594/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 15th highest of 86
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
146.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 151.6
VA median 145.9 · tied for 10th highest of 25
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.19
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 26th highest of 67
Farmland rented
41%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 25th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$40$105 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$105/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+87.5%nominal, $56 to $105
Irrigated, 2016$83/ac
Pasture, 2026$44/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.69$105 ÷ 151.6 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,594/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,256/ac
Census 2017$6,999/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+8.5%+1.6% 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

20082010201220142016201820202022202487.0198.0median 146.2

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

Median, 2008–2025146.2 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025151.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 87.0 bu/ac60% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.8 bu/ac a year±2.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620210.250.140.060.260.062.192.740.151.00: 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$12.19
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.00claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.81$16.8 million paid
Worst year2024ratio 2.74
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 86% · excess moisture 6% · other 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250200

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, 2000–202547 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200220 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202526 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.2 °F1991–2020 normal 61.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.44 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,757 ac
Farmed no-till, 202236% of cropland33,880 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland8,703 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021532,9441,551

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,551 ac1.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028331 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$90/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20257.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202286,078−16.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202241%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Augusta County$105$7,594146.2$12.19
Albemarle County$33$9,048—$32.16
Bath County$45$4,314——
Highland County$30 2025$3,382——
Nelson County$40$5,566—$32.86
Rockbridge County$33$5,763—$7.24
Rockingham County$111$9,531149.6$27.15
Staunton City————
Waynesboro City————
Pendleton County, WV$35$3,163——
Median next door$37$5,566149.6 1 co.$29.66

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. Augusta County, Virginia. 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/virginia/augusta-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.