County farm facts

Chesterfield County, Virginia

Chesterfield County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $42 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,136 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51041. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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Stands out against its own record

10 weeks

With half the county or more in severe drought (D2) or worse in 2026 so far, the most since 2002 (42 weeks).

U.S. Drought Monitor weekly maps, 2000 to 2026 (40 maps this year)

As of Oct 16, cash rent in Chesterfield County runs $42 an acre for 2026, 32nd lowest of 86 in Virginia and under the state median of $47. The corn trend projects 141.0 bu for 2026, 9th lowest of 36, against a state median of 156.0 bu. Last year beat that trend, with 2025 corn at 166.5 bu. In 2022, 21% of the farmland here was rented.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$42/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 32nd lowest of 86
Land and buildings
$8,136/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 12% from 2017 while next door rose a median 25% · VA farm real estate 2026: $6,300 (land and buildings, state survey)
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.29
$42 ÷ 141.0 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
Corn yield, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
141.0 bu/ac
all practices trend · 2025 county yield 166.5 (all practices)
VA median 156.0 · 9th lowest of 36
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$20.55
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 15th highest of 67
Farmland rented
21%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 9th lowest of 90
Open on the map Compare Virginia cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Chesterfield County, Virginia

Drought, year by year

2000200520102015202020250420

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, 2000–202561 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200242 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–20250 weeks
2026 so far10 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.3 °F1991–2020 normal 68.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.50 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September, usual25.8 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 27.5 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeApr 2, Nov 4middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days215middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September3,454middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 3,518

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202424.059.0145.7159.0143.5166.5median 141.0

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

14-yr trend (projected 2026)141.0 bu/acall practices county yields, 6 years, R² 0.01; the figure rent per bushel uses
2025 county yield166.5 bu/acall practices
Median, 2008–2025141.0 bu/ac9 published years
Lowest published year2008: 24.0 bu/ac17% of median

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40202120222023202420252026$23$42 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published Virginia county rate, side by side: Virginia cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$42/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.29$42 ÷ 141.0 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026), all practices
Rent as a share of corn gross, 20254.3%$32 non-irrigated rent 2025 ÷ (166.5 bu, 2025 county yield, all practices × $4.45 Virginia price received); the county reports no irrigated corn; the 2025 price is preliminary

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel uses this year's rent over the 14-yr trend. The calculator below starts from that trend and lets you put in your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,136/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,329/ac
Census 2017$9,216/ac
Read with careThe 2022 census value fell 12% from 2017 while the 6 counties next door rose a median 25%. The census counts buildings and small residential farms, so the change since 2017, the rent-to-value ratio and the rank are withheld
Virginia cropland, 2026 state survey$6,400/ac+3.7% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Virginia farm real estate, 2026$6,300/acland and buildings, state average
Virginia pasture, 2026$5,430/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Virginia average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Chesterfield County.

PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Chesterfield County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$20.55
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.06claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.94$2.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1990–2025heat and drought 62% · excess moisture 23% · other 9%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

19861991199620012006201120162021021913

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

CRP enrolled, 202513 ac
CRP expiring FY2027–20290 ac0% of enrolled acres

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20222%
Farmed no-till, 202221% of cropland1,105 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland444 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20252 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022915−3.9% since 2017
Beef cows, 2022567head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202221%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Chesterfield County, Virginia change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Chesterfield County$42$8,136n/a$20.55
Amelia County$44$4,304126.7$9.26
Charles City County$77$4,221137.7$4.62
Colonial Heights Cityn/an/an/an/a
Dinwiddie County$72$3,339n/a$4.91
Henrico County$44$7,750n/a$8.35
Hopewell Cityn/an/an/an/a
Petersburg Cityn/an/an/an/a
Powhatan County$30 2023$6,616n/a$11.23
Prince George County$64$4,187n/a$4.95
Richmond Cityn/an/an/an/a
Median next door$64$4,263132.2 2 co.$6.65

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Chesterfield County, Virginia. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/virginia/chesterfield-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).