Farmland Atlas · county record

Isle of Wight County, Virginia

Isle of Wight County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $105 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,877 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 135.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51093. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $105 per acre, up 52.2 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $3,877 per acre, up 4.4 percent from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields trend up 5.1 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2023, with a median of 135.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 30 in 2010. Heat and drought account for 60 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, though that share has fallen across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, and 2010-2019, then risen in 2020-2025. Drought weeks in severe drought or worse dropped to 0 for 2021-2025, down from 67 of 1357 weeks since 2000. Solar operating capacity stands at 301 MW, with 258.4 MW more proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$105/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · tied for 4th highest of 84
Land and buildings
$3,877/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 25th lowest of 86
Rent as % of land value
2.32%
$90 dry rent ÷ $3,877 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
135.6 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 136.8
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.26
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 12th lowest of 67
Farmland rented
54%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 10th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$51$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+52.2%nominal, $69 to $105
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.77$105 ÷ 136.8 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,877/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,556/ac
Census 2017$3,714/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+4.4%+0.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.32%$90 ÷ $3,877; cropland 70% of land in farms

Corn yield

2008201020122014201620182020202279.0111.030.0143.8147.4135.0109.5180.0136.2139.3median 135.6

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

Median, 2008–2023135.6 bu/ac10 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023136.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 30.0 bu/ac22% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+5.1 bu/ac a year±4.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.001.560.151.00: 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$4.26
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.45claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.54$22.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 17
Worst year2016ratio 1.56
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 60% · excess moisture 18% · area plans 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250330

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, 2000–202567 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200233 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202670.5 °F1991–2020 normal 69.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.53 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September28.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 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, 202235% of cropland19,530 ac
Farmed no-till, 202252% of cropland29,480 ac
Cover crops, 202229% of cropland16,412 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210329185

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

CRP enrolled, 2025185 ac0.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20288 ac4% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$77/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025301 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,967−25.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202254%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Isle of Wight County$105$3,877—$4.26
Franklin City————
Southampton County$100$3,618—$3.24
Suffolk City$103$4,816128.7$3.89
Surry County$80$2,949143.7$3.53
Median next door$100$3,618136.2 2 co.$3.53

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. Isle of Wight 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/isle-of-wight-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.