Farmland Atlas · county record

Wise County, Virginia

Wise County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $28 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,671 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51195. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wise County runs $28 per acre, against a census land value of $3,671 per acre. July nightly lows average 62.8 F over 2017-2026, up from the 61.7 F normal for 1991-2020, and the warming trend since 1976 runs 0.42 F per decade. Drought has been light in recent years: 0 weeks in severe drought or worse in 2021-2025, against 62 of 1357 weeks over 2000-2025, with 2007 the worst year at 27 weeks. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities was 51 percent in 1989-1999 and 33 percent in 2000-2009. Land value rose 18.5 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 3.5 percent a year.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$28/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 5th lowest of 84
Land and buildings
$3,671/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 22nd lowest of 86
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 23% 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
57%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 6th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$10$20$3020222023202420252026$22$28 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$28/ac
Pasture, 2024$6/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,671/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,756/ac
Census 2017$3,097/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.5%+3.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 23% 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 1994. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in.

Largest causes of loss, 1994–2004heat and drought 41% · excess moisture 39% · other 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020254270

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, 2000–202562 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200727 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+0.42 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% 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 cropland25 ac
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland162 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland68 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202103535

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

CRP enrolled, 202535 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20253 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20221,594−65.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand value
Wise County$28$3,671
Harlan County, KY—$2,816
Letcher County, KY—$3,563
Pike County, KY—$1,983
Dickenson County—$2,612
Lee County$25$3,526
Norton City——
Russell County$37$3,381
Scott County$31$3,600
Median next door$31$3,381

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. Wise 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/wise-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.