Farmland Atlas · county record

Rockingham County, Virginia

Rockingham County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $111 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,531 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 149.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51165. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Rockingham County averages $111 per acre in 2026, up 30.6 percent from 2016. Census land value stood at $9,531 per acre in 2022, with a change of 7.8 percent from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields carry a fitted trend of 1.1 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 149.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 103.4 in 2024. Crop insurance losses over 1989-2025 total $40.5 million, with heat and drought the largest cause at 40 percent; that share ran 89 percent in 1989-1999, 43 percent in 2000-2009, 74 percent in 2010-2019, and 34 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks rose from 52 of 1357 weeks countywide since 2000 to 35 in the 2021-2025 span alone.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$111/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 2nd highest of 84
Cash rent, irrigated
$150/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$9,531/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 5th highest of 86
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
149.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 145.5
VA median 145.9 · 6th highest of 25
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$27.15
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 10th highest of 67
Farmland rented
36%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 36th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$59$111 dry$61$150 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$111/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+30.6%nominal, $85 to $111
Irrigated, 2022$150/ac
Pasture, 2026$53/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.76$111 ÷ 145.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,531/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,055/ac
Census 2017$8,844/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+7.8%+1.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.05%$100 ÷ $9,531; cropland 54% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024144.0217.1median 149.6

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

Median, 2008–2025149.6 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025145.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2024: 103.4 bu/ac69% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.1 bu/ac a year±3.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2011201620210.720.220.030.040.210.541.701.741.192.312.661.731.00: 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$27.15
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.64claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.25$40.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 12
Worst year2024ratio 2.66
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 40% · freeze 40% · excess moisture 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202501710

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, 2000–202552 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200217 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202535 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.0 °F1991–2020 normal 61.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.56 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.2 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, 20221% of cropland1,341 ac
Farmed no-till, 202237% of cropland38,195 ac
Cover crops, 202221% of cropland21,818 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202181,278961

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

CRP enrolled, 2025961 ac1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028115 ac12% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$77/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202533.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202287,565−21.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202236%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Rockingham County$111$9,531149.6$27.15
Albemarle County$33$9,048—$32.16
Augusta County$105$7,594146.2$12.19
Greene County$45$8,303——
Harrisonburg City————
Page County$53$8,837122.9$20.60
Shenandoah County$69$7,334146.2$29.88
Hardy County, WV$45$4,212—$10.27
Pendleton County, WV$35$3,163——
Median next door$45$7,594146.2$20.60

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. Rockingham 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/rockingham-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.