Farmland Atlas · county record

Rappahannock County, Virginia

Rappahannock County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $31 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,465 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51157. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Rappahannock County averages $31 per acre in 2026. July nights average 65.2 F for 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 63.5 F, and the July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.7 F per decade, warming. No irrigation is in use on harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, 0 percent. Crop insurance indemnities for 1989-2025 total $1.7 million, with freeze and frost the largest cause at 37 percent; heat and drought's share moved from 17 percent in 1989-1999 to 38 percent in 2000-2009 to 21 percent in 2010-2019 to 15 percent in 2020-2025. Severe drought or worse covered at least 50 percent of the county in 58 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 24 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$31/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · tied for 11th lowest of 84
Land and buildings
$7,465/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 16th highest of 86
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 30% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
24%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 15th lowest of 90

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30201520202025$17$31 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$31/ac
Pasture, 2026$15/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,465/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,443/ac
Census 2017$6,891/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+8.3%+1.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 30% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

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.

Loss ratio, 1989–20251.15$1.7 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 37% · other 23% · heat and drought 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250183

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, 2000–202558 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200218 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202524 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.2 °F1991–2020 normal 63.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.70 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland195 ac
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland999 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland77 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210806269

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

CRP enrolled, 2025269 ac1.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202889 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$91/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202211,924−8.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202224%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Rappahannock County$31$7,465——
Culpeper County$58$7,957146.1$6.30
Fauquier County$65$7,962152.2$5.21
Madison County$56$6,994151.7$6.03
Page County$53$8,837122.9$20.60
Warren County$36$8,337——
Median next door$56$7,962148.9$6.17

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. Rappahannock 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/rappahannock-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.