Bedford County, Virginia
Bedford County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $28 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,539 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 133.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Bedford County runs $28 per acre, up 33.3 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $5,539 per acre, up 25.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, 4.7 percent a year. Cropland here is 0 percent irrigated, so yield rides on rain and heat. Corn yields trended up 1.4 bushels per acre a year over 2009-2022, median 133.3 bushels per acre, with 2009 low at 94. Heat and drought drove 56 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, though that share fell to 42 percent in 2020-2025. July nights average 66.9 F over 2017-2026 against a 65.4 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July low has warmed 0.65 F per decade since 1976.
VA median $47 · 6th lowest of 84
VA median $4,596 · 34th highest of 86
VA median $8.45 · 11th highest of 67
VA median 33% · 38th lowest of 90
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford County | $28 | — | $5,539 | — | $25.43 |
| Amherst County | $26 | — | $5,795 | — | $44.05 |
| Botetourt County | $30 | — | $5,457 | — | $30.55 |
| Campbell County | $32 | — | $3,656 | — | $29.15 |
| Franklin County | $55 | — | $4,475 | 136.7 | $20.45 |
| Lynchburg City | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pittsylvania County | $41 | $60 2024 | $3,197 | — | $24.39 |
| Roanoke County | $20 | — | $6,876 | — | — |
| Rockbridge County | $33 | — | $5,763 | — | $7.24 |
| Median next door | $32 | — | $5,457 | 136.7 1 co. | $26.77 |
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. Bedford 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/bedford-countyEvery 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.