Farmland Atlas · county record

Hardy County, West Virginia

Hardy County, WV: non-irrigated cash rent $45 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,212 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 161.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 54031. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Hardy County stands at $45 per acre, up 18.4 percent from 2016 to 2026. Cropland here is 0 percent irrigated, so yield rides on rainfall and heat. Corn's median 2008-2016 was 161.3 bushels per acre, with 2010 falling to 116.8. July nights average 61.3 F over 2017-2026 against a 60 F normal, warming at 0.37 F per decade since 1976. Heat and drought caused 70 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, and the loss ratio over 2016-2025 was 1.09, above the 0.73 ratio for the full 1989-2025 period. Drought weeks in severe or worse conditions ran 29 of 2021-2025, against 51 of 1357 weeks for 2000-2025. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$45/ac
2026 county average
WV median $30 · 7th highest of 30
Land and buildings
$4,212/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WV median $3,215 · 9th highest of 47
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 25% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, 2008–2016 median
161.3 bu/ac
8 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$10.27
2016–2025, closed crop years
WV median $14.36 · 3rd lowest of 7
Farmland rented
31%
2022 census, rented from others
WV median 20% · 5th highest of 48

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602010201520202025$61$45 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$45/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+18.4%nominal, $38 to $45
Pasture, 2026$15/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,212/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,837/ac
Census 2017$3,213/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.1%+5.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 25% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820092010201120122013201420152016167.0162.0116.8131.5168.2181.2160.7144.5median 161.3

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

Median, 2008–2016161.3 bu/ac8 published years
Lowest published year2010: 116.8 bu/ac72% of median

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$10.27
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.09claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.73$4.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 70% · excess moisture 13% · other 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025017

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, 2000–202551 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202517 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202529 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.3 °F1991–2020 normal 60.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.37 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland1,039 ac
Farmed no-till, 202212% of cropland4,200 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland684 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210474458

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

CRP enrolled, 2025458 ac1.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202845 ac10% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$45/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202222,083−13.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202231%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Hardy County$45$4,212—$10.27
Frederick County, VA$34$7,861136.3$47.13
Rockingham County, VA$111$9,531149.6$27.15
Shenandoah County, VA$69$7,334146.2$29.88
Grant County$27$3,008——
Hampshire County$43$3,713—$55.58
Pendleton County$35$3,163——
Median next door$39$5,524146.2$38.51

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. Hardy County, West 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/west-virginia/hardy-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.