Farmland Atlas · county record

Sussex County, Virginia

Sussex County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $81 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,861 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 124.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51183. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $81 per acre, up 32.8 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land is valued at $2,861 per acre under the 2022 census, with a 3.1 percent change from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields have a median of 124.2 bushels per acre from 2008-2024, with 2010 low at 55.3. Heat and drought drove 71 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, and that share was 88 percent in 1989-1999, 71 percent in 2000-2009, 64 percent in 2010-2019, and 68 percent in 2020-2025. July nights average 69.9 F over 2017-2026, above the 68.5 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.72 F per decade, warming. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$81/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 15th highest of 84
Land and buildings
$2,861/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · tied for 3rd lowest of 86
Rent as % of land value
2.43%
$70 dry rent ÷ $2,861 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
124.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 141.5
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.06
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 19th lowest of 67
Farmland rented
52%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 13th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$45$81 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$81/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+32.8%nominal, $61 to $81
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.57$81 ÷ 141.5 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,861/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,277/ac
Census 2017$2,775/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+3.1%+0.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.43%$70 ÷ $2,861; cropland 67% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202459.0122.055.3100.6126.5159.1151.5131.4median 124.2

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

Median, 2008–2024124.2 bu/ac8 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024141.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 55.3 bu/ac45% of median

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.273.320.381.00: 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$5.06
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.42claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.66$31.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 18
Worst year2010ratio 3.32
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 71% · excess moisture 19% · price decline (revenue policies) 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250410

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, 2000–202574 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200241 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.9 °F1991–2020 normal 68.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.72 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 111% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202210% of cropland4,497 ac
Farmed no-till, 202251% of cropland23,692 ac
Cover crops, 202220% of cropland9,500 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021551,257502

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

CRP enrolled, 2025502 ac1.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028167 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$72/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025138 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022457−52.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202252%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Sussex County$81$2,861—$5.06
Dinwiddie County$72$3,339—$4.91
Greensville County$96$2,861—$9.82
Prince George County$64$4,187—$4.95
Southampton County$100$3,618—$3.24
Surry County$80$2,949143.7$3.53
Median next door$80$3,339143.7 1 co.$4.91

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. Sussex 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/sussex-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.