Farmland Atlas · county record

Washington County, Virginia

Washington County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $50 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,621 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 121.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51191. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Washington County averages $50 per acre in 2026, up 37 percent from 2016. Census value of land and buildings stands at $5,621 per acre, with a change of 11.6 percent from 2017 to 2022, 2.2 percent a year. Corn yields show a fitted trend of 1.6 bushels per acre a year over 2009-2022, with a median of 121 bushels per acre and a worst year of 106.8 in 2012. July nightly lows average 62.8 F for 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 61.7 F, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.51 F per decade, warming. Heat and drought stood at 65 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999, 28 percent in 2000-2009, 45 percent in 2010-2019, and 96 percent in 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$50/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 38th highest of 84
Land and buildings
$5,621/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 32nd 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, 2009–2022 median
121.0 bu/ac
11 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
34%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 40th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$502010201520202025$35$50 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$50/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+37.0%nominal, $37 to $50
Pasture, 2026$47/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,621/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,936/ac
Census 2017$5,038/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+11.6%+2.2% 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

20092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022121.0125.3106.8119.1166.7118.9110.7130.5111.4160.9138.5median 121.0

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

Median, 2009–2022121.0 bu/ac11 published years
Lowest published year2012: 106.8 bu/ac88% of median
Trend, 2009–2022+1.6 bu/ac a year±3.6 (95% interval)

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, 1989–20251.93$9.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 47% · excess moisture 35% · other 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202510290

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, 2000–202587 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200829 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.8 °F1991–2020 normal 61.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.51 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 108% 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, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland631 ac
Farmed no-till, 20228% of cropland4,020 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland1,462 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202141879372

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

CRP enrolled, 2025372 ac0.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202890 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$65/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202264,483−2.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202234%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand value
Washington County$50$5,621
Johnson County, TN$30$6,031
Sullivan County, TN$35$8,316
Bristol City——
Grayson County$70$4,673
Russell County$37$3,381
Scott County$31$3,600
Smyth County$66$3,971
Median next door$36$4,322

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. Washington 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/washington-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.