Farmland Atlas · county record

Northampton County, Virginia

Northampton County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $88 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,745 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 159.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51131. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Northampton County runs $88 per acre in 2026, up 6 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $145 per acre, a multiple of 1.65 over non-irrigated, compared with 1.27 in 2009; the direction of that multiple shows no clear pattern. Corn yields have trended up 1.2 bushels per acre a year across 2009-2025, with a median of 159.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 70.4 in 2010. Heat and drought drove 54 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, with shares of 55 percent in 1989-1999, 34 percent in 2000-2009, 62 percent in 2010-2019, and 60 percent in 2020-2025. July nights have warmed 0.61 F per decade since 1976, and only 16 percent of cropland is irrigated as of the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$88/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 12th highest of 84
Cash rent, irrigated
$145/ac
2026 county average
Land and buildings
$4,745/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 40th highest of 86
Corn yield, 2009–2025 median
159.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 161.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
VA median 145.9 · highest of 25
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.99
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 31st lowest of 67
Farmland rented
71%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$62$88 dry$79$145 irrigated

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$88/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+6.0%nominal, $83 to $88
Irrigated, 2026$145/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,745/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,319/ac
Census 2017$4,585/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+3.5%+0.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 16% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200920112013201520172019202120232025166.0181.3111.4median 159.6

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

Median, 2009–2025159.6 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025161.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 70.4 bu/ac44% of median
Trend, 2009–2025+1.2 bu/ac a year±3.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1999200420092014201920241.720.881.00: 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$7.99
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.88claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.89$69.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium11 of 27
Worst year1999ratio 1.72
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 54% · excess moisture 25% · other 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250303

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, 2000–202568 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200230 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202513 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.9 °F1991–2020 normal 70.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.61 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202216%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland727 ac
Farmed no-till, 202265% of cropland21,743 ac
Cover crops, 202222% of cropland7,306 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021028538

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

CRP enrolled, 202538 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–202811 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202520 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Farmland rented from others, 202271%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Northampton County$88$145$4,745159.6$7.99
Accomack County$112—$5,045156.9$10.21
Median next door$112 1 co.—$5,045 1 co.156.9 1 co.$10.21 1 co.

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. Northampton 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/northampton-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.