Frequently Asked Questions
What agricultural products define North Carolina farmland?
According to the 2026 North Carolina Department of Agriculture reports tobacco remains a highly famous crop in the state even though farmers plant way less of it today than they did in the past. Sweet potatoes are the biggest vegetable crop by far and North Carolina actually grows more sweet potatoes than any other state in the country with most coming from Johnston Wilson and Sampson counties.
Farmers mostly grow soybeans corn and wheat across the flat eastern counties. Raising hogs and chickens brings in the most agricultural money for the state with massive farming operations located in Duplin Sampson and Wayne counties.
Growing Christmas trees in the Mitchell and Avery mountain counties makes North Carolina the second biggest producer in the entire country.
What does farmland cost in North Carolina and what are typical cash rents?
According to the 2025 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service report the average cropland value in North Carolina is $6,050 per acre. Top tier eastern Coastal Plain row crop farm dirt in Bertie Martin and Northampton counties usually runs $5,000 to $8,000 per acre for great bottomland.
Piedmont farm dirt in Moore Lee and Chatham counties runs $2,000 to $4,000 per acre. Small western Piedmont farms run $2,500 to $5,500 per acre but the price jumps much higher if the land sits close to Charlotte.
According to the 2025 USDA report farmers usually pay $60 to $120 per acre to rent good farm dirt in the eastern counties which is cheaper than Midwest rent prices but matches the local dirt value.
What is the poultry contract farming business model in North Carolina?
Contracting with massive companies to raise broiler chickens is the main farming business model in Sampson Duplin and Wayne counties. According to 2026 industry data major chicken companies like Tyson Perdue Case Farms and House of Raeford run massive networks of contract farmers across the region while companies like Smithfield and Prestage focus purely on pork and turkey.
The local farmer owns the land and the chicken houses and pays for the labor and power while the big chicken company owns the birds and provides all the feed. The farmer gets paid based on how well their chickens grow compared to other local farmers.
Buying an existing farm that already has chicken houses and an active contract gives the buyer steady and predictable money. You must heavily research the specific chicken company the contract rules and the age of the chicken houses before you ever buy a poultry farm.
