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Bourbon County, KY

Cattle prices near Bourbon County, Kentucky. The closest sale barn with a recent report is Paris KY in Paris, KY, about 3 miles away. On Nov 9, 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) averaged $396.51 per hundredweight on 50 head (USDA). Check a bid against your own costs with Ring Price.

Check a bid with Ring Price

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Bourbon County rain, outlook and forecast

On the Nov 10 U.S. Drought Monitor map, most of Bourbon County, KY showed no drought; four weeks earlier 65% of the county was abnormally dry (D0) or worse, now 0%. Rain has run 57% of normal over the last 30 days (below normal) and 64% over 90 days; no day in the 7-day forecast tops a 7% rain chance and the 6-10 day outlook for Nov 20–24 leans toward near-normal rain. Bourbon County is not on FSA's 2026 LFP list yet, and Paris KY is the closest USDA-reported sale barn at 3 miles.

Rain vs normal

  • Last 30 days 57% of normal
  • Last 60 days 67% of normal
  • Last 90 days 64% of normal

NOAA river forecast center rain (radar plus gauges) at the county center, Nov 15, 2026. Source.

Rain outlook

  • 6-10 day outlook (Nov 20–24) Leans toward near-normal rain
  • 8-14 day outlook (Nov 22–28) Leans wetter than normal (33% chance of above-normal rain)

NOAA Climate Prediction Center precipitation outlook, issued Nov 14, 2026. Source.

Next 7 days

  1. Today Partly Sunny, high 49°, low 26°, 0% rain, wind 2–6 mph
  2. Monday Patchy Fog then Mostly Sunny, high 53°, low 25°, 0% rain, wind 0–3 mph
  3. Tuesday Patchy Fog then Sunny, high 57°, low 26°, 0% rain, wind 1–2 mph
  4. Wednesday Sunny, high 62°, low 31°, 0% rain, wind 2 mph
  5. Thursday Mostly Sunny, high 63°, low 37°, 0% rain, wind 2–6 mph
  6. Friday Mostly Sunny, high 65°, low 37°, 0% rain, wind 1–2 mph
  7. Saturday Sunny, high 68°, low 42°, 7% rain, wind 1–6 mph

National Weather Service forecast for the county center, updated Nov 15, 2026. Wind, warnings and burn bans.

PRF pasture insurance: sign up by Dec 1, 2026

The 2027 Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance sales closing date for Bourbon County is Dec 1, 2026, 16 days from today. PRF (Rainfall Index) pays on a rainfall index for your grid, not on your own rain gauge. You buy it through a crop insurance agent.

How PRF works · PRF 2027 sign-up · Find your grid on RMA's PRF tool

Date from USDA RMA's actuarial data, read Aug 28, 2026 · RMA dates map. Your agent confirms the date for your policy.

Bourbon County grass production

In 2025, grassland and pasture in Bourbon County grew about 3,463 pounds per acre of grass and forbs, 106% of the county's 1991-2020 normal of 3,263 pounds per acre. That was the 13th best of 40 years on record (1986-2025). Best year: 2012 at 3,972 pounds per acre; worst: 1987 at 1,947.

Pounds per acre of new grass and forbs each year on rangeland and pasture, from the Rangeland Analysis Platform (satellite-based estimates). See every year on the Land tab.

Open loss windows

No open loss windows in Bourbon County right now. A 30-day window opens when the county first hits severe drought (D2), jumps to D3 or D4, or after a blizzard, extreme heat or cold, flood or ice warning, a wildfire, or a USDA disaster designation. Keep a Drought Ledger.

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Cownty sends nothing to FSA.

Drought-sale tax flag IRS list

Bourbon County is on IRS Notice 2026-54 (severe or worse drought, Sep 1, 2025 to Aug 31, 2026).

Why it matters: if you sold breeding, dairy or draft livestock because of drought, the tax code may let you put off the gain (more time to buy replacement animals, or report the extra-sale income a year later). Your tax preparer decides whether either applies.

Work out your numbers and print a page for your preparer

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. Ask your tax preparer. FSA decides program eligibility. IRS Notice 2026-54 (PDF)

Prices

5-wt steers, nearest barns

Steers 500–599 lb, $/cwt, weekly average.

BarnLast sale5-wt steers
Paris KY 3 miNov 9$397
Mt. Sterling KY 17 miNov 11$372
Lexington KY 19 miNov 9$388
How to read this

Each line is one barn's head-weighted average for 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) in that week; gaps are weeks with no sale or no lots that size. Past sales, not a bid.

Dollars per hundredweight ($/cwt, per 100 lb), calculated from USDA AMS Market News sale reports (Medium & Large 1 and 1-2). Not a USDA-published average. ≈ $/head = $/cwt × the middle of the weight class ÷ 100.

Price history · Barn map · Fed vs feeder cattle

All weights at the 3 nearest barns

Paris KY 3 mi

Paris, KY
Sale of Nov 9, 2026
CattleHead$/cwt≈ $/head
Heifers 400-499 lb42370.60$1,670
Heifers 500-599 lb46333.38$1,830
Heifers 600-699 lb31306.30$1,990
Steers 400-499 lb17458.44$2,060
Steers 500-599 lb50396.51$2,180
Steers 600-699 lb32354.22$2,300
Steers 700-799 lb10321.57$2,410

USDA report (PDF) · Price history

Mt. Sterling KY 17 mi

Mt. Sterling, KY
Sale of Nov 11, 2026
CattleHead$/cwt≈ $/head
Heifers 400-499 lb14366.31$1,650
Heifers 500-599 lb33325.69$1,790
Heifers 600-699 lb13295.18$1,920
Heifers 700-799 lb2282.50$2,120
Steers 400-499 lb4451.25$2,030
Steers 500-599 lb11372.47$2,050
Steers 600-699 lb10334.64$2,180
Steers 700-799 lb4311.99$2,340

USDA report (PDF) · Price history

Lexington KY 19 mi

Lexington, KY
Sale of Nov 9, 2026
CattleHead$/cwt≈ $/head
Heifers 400-499 lb41372.24$1,680
Heifers 500-599 lb74331.77$1,820
Heifers 600-699 lb7308.80$2,010
Heifers 700-799 lb2272.50$2,040
Steers 400-499 lb25447.18$2,010
Steers 500-599 lb70388.27$2,140
Steers 600-699 lb27359.35$2,340
Steers 700-799 lb4318.50$2,390

USDA report (PDF) · Price history

26 more within 200 mi: Flemingsburg KY (30 mi), Richmond KY (33 mi), Owenton KY (41 mi), Stanford KY (52 mi), Springfield KY (65 mi), Somerset KY (80 mi), Campbellsville KY (86 mi), Russell Springs KY (93 mi), Upton KY (106 mi), Albany KY (116 mi), Harned KY (124 mi), Glasgow KY (125 mi), Ripley WV (142 mi), Bowling Green KY (United) (148 mi), Bowling Green KY (Cattleman) (148 mi), Lafayette TN (153 mi), Knoxville TN (155 mi), Greeneville TN (160 mi), Owensboro KY (161 mi), Crossville TN (162 mi), Carthage TN (165 mi), Sweetwater TN (180 mi), Athens TN (191 mi), Guthrie KY (194 mi), McMinnville TN (194 mi), Canton NC (200 mi).

Drought

Drought, past 12 months

0% of the county in severe drought or worse.

How to read this

Each band is how much of the county was in that drought level that week. Darker = worse. D2 (severe) and darker can trigger USDA drought pay.

Right now: 0% of the county is in severe drought or worse; some of it has been for 0 weeks running. Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, map of Nov 10, 2026.

See the drought map

Programs

Drought pasture pay (LFP)

Not on FSA's 2026 list as of the latest file.

FSA "Counties & Pasture Types Eligible for 2026 LFP", file dated Nov 5, 2026 (download). FSA decides eligibility. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

USDA disaster declarations

No USDA disaster declarations in the current or prior crop-year files.

"Declared" means USDA named this county. "Neighboring" means it touches a declared county. Either way, FSA emergency loans can open for about 8 months. FSA designation files. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

CRP emergency haying and grazing

Not on the list Bourbon County is not on FSA's emergency haying and grazing list as of Nov 5, 2026. Non-emergency haying and grazing may still be allowed outside the primary nesting season.

Before haying and grazing, contact your FSA county office to see if your county remains eligible and/or obtain a modified conservation plan. This list is cumulative for the year and current local conditions may have changed.

Source: FSA eligible-county table posted Nov 5, 2026 · map · FSA program page. FSA posts a new file every Thursday. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

Screwworm (Texas Animal Health Commission)

Data pending. animal-health alerts are read for Texas (TAHC) and Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico (state ag departments); Kentucky's state veterinarian isn't read yet
New FSA programs: watch list

Weather & fire

Next 7 days · National Weather Service

Weather for Bourbon County

Forecast for the center point of Bourbon County.

  • Freeze on 4 nights
  1. Today Partly Sunny 49° 26° NW 2–6 mph 0% rain
  2. Mon Patchy Fog then Mostly Sunny 53° 25° NE 0–3 mph 0% rain
  3. Tue Patchy Fog then Sunny 57° 26° E 1–2 mph 0% rain
  4. Wed Sunny 62° 31° S 2 mph 0% rain
  5. Thu Mostly Sunny 63° 37° SW 2–6 mph 0% rain
  6. Fri Mostly Sunny 65° 37° S 1–2 mph 0% rain
  7. Sat Sunny 68° 42° S 1–6 mph 7% rain

Forecast from the National Weather Service, updated Nov 15, 2026. Wind arrows point where the wind is going; the letters say where it comes from. Windy = 25 mph or more; freeze = a low of 32°F or less. Open the full forecast.

Burn ban

Data pending. Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for Kentucky; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices

No official ban list to check here, so Cownty shows the National Weather Service fire-weather alerts for the county instead: none right now.

Weather warnings right now

None right now

National Weather Service active alerts for this county, as of Nov 15, 2026 (source). Fetched Nov 15, 2026.

Rainfall vs normal

Oct 2026
2.45 in 70% of normal
Last 12 months
42.58 in 87%
How to read this

Bars are the rain that fell each month; the dashed line is a normal month (1991-2020 average). Bars below the line = drier than normal.

County-average precipitation, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026. Normal = NCEI's own 1991-2020 average for each month (Oct 2026 normal 3.51 in; same month last year 6.11 in). NCEI posts each month around the 8th of the next and may revise recent months. Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance. Fetched Nov 14, 2026.

Wildfires

No current fire perimeter in the county

No current perimeter within 100 mi of the county center (48 mapped nationally).

See the fire map

Interagency fire outlines. Small or brand-new fires are often not mapped yet; call 911 for a fire you can see. Layer updated Nov 15, 2026. Source: National Interagency Fire Center. Fetched Nov 15, 2026.

Frost dates

Frost and freeze dates

30-year averages (1991–2020) from the weather stations nearest Bourbon County. Frost = 32°F; hard freeze = 28°F.

Cynthiana weather station (13 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
188-day growing season
Apr 18
1 year in 10 it's after May 5
Oct 23
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 13
Hard freeze (28°F)
211-day growing season
Apr 5
1 year in 10 it's after Apr 23
Nov 2
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 22

Mt Sterling weather station (18 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
175-day growing season
Apr 24
1 year in 10 it's after May 12
Oct 18
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 6
Hard freeze (28°F)
198-day growing season
Apr 13
1 year in 10 it's after Apr 29
Oct 28
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 15

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Cynthiana, Mt Sterling), NOAA files as of Jun 27, 2023. Fetched Nov 11, 2026.

Money

FSA grain loan rates (2026)

What FSA will lend on stored grain, per bushel. Lets you hold grain instead of selling at harvest.

CropBourbon CountyNational average
Corn$2.54 /bu $2.42 /bu
Grain sorghum$4.51 /cwt
($2.53 /bu)
$2.42 /bu
Soybeans$6.95 /bu $6.82 /bu
Soft red winter wheat$3.25 /bu $3.72 /bu

County marketing-loan rates. Sorghum's county rate is set per 100 lb; the per-bushel figure uses 56 lb a bushel. Source: FSA 2026 corn/sorghum/soybean schedule, wheat schedule, national rates. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

FSA farm loan interest rates

FSA direct loanRate
Farm Operating - Direct5.625%
Farm Operating - Microloan5.625%
Farm Ownership - Direct6.250%
Farm Ownership - Microloan6.250%
Farm Ownership - Direct, Joint Financing4.250%
Farm Ownership - Down Payment2.250%
Emergency Loan - Amount of Actual Loss3.750%

Set nationally by FSA; the same in every county. Effective Nov 1, 2026. Source: FSA current loan interest rates. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

Farm program payments by crop (ARC and PLC)

ARC pays when county crop revenue falls below its guarantee. PLC pays when the national price falls below the reference price. You picked one per crop when you enrolled.

Data pending. last fetch failed: HTTPError: 403 Client Error: Forbidden for url: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/programs/arc-plc/program-data

PLC, 2026 FSA table of Oct 30, 2026

CropReference priceSeason avg pricePLC payment
Wheat /bushel$6.35$6.30 projected$0.05 projected
Barley /bushel$5.58$5.70 projected$0.00 projected
Oats /bushel$3.05$3.35 projected$0.00 projected
Corn /bushel$4.42$4.70 projected$0.00 projected
Grain Sorghum /bushel$4.67$4.50 projected$0.17 projected
Soybeans /bushel$10.71$12.00 projected$0.00 projected

PLC rates are national (paid on the farm's PLC yield). Source: FSA 2026 PLC table. FSA decides who is paid.

FSA payments in Bourbon County

Data pending. last fetch failed: HTTPError: 403 Client Error: Forbidden for url: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/tools/informational/freedom-information-act-foia/electronic-reading-room/frequently-requested/payment-files
Crop conditions (statewide)

Kentucky crop and pasture condition

Kentucky statewide, not just your county. From USDA's weekly Crop Progress report, week ending Nov 8, 2026.

ConditionPoor or
very poor
FairGood or
excellent

Progress

KentuckyThis weekLast weekNormal (5-yr avg)
Corn Harvested96%93%91%

Source: USDA NASS Crop Progress released Nov 9, 2026 (ESMIS), Kentucky rows. Week ending Nov 8, 2026. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

Deadlines

  • Dec 1, 2026in 16 days
    Last day to buy 2027 pasture rain insurance (PRF)
    Crop insurance (RMA)
    Details and source
    Plans: Rainfall Index
    Source: USDA RMA · more · checked Aug 28, 2026
  • Mar 1, 2027in 106 days
    Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): application and papers for 2026 losses are due by this date.
    FSA disaster programs · 7 CFR 1416.206(a)
    Details and source
    Source: USDA FSA · checked Oct 18, 2026
  • Mar 1, 2027in 106 days
    Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP): notice of loss, application and papers for 2026 losses are due by this date.
    FSA disaster programs · 7 CFR 1416.107
    Details and source
    Source: USDA FSA · checked Oct 18, 2026
  • Mar 1, 2027in 106 days
    Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP): notice of loss, application and papers for 2026 losses are due by this date.
    FSA disaster programs · 7 CFR 1416.305(b)
    Details and source
    Source: USDA FSA · checked Oct 18, 2026

All deadlines and report dates · FSA disaster-program deadlines are pending (no official feed).

Land

Where it is, with barns within 200 mi

Dots are sale barns USDA reports on. Tap one for its latest prices.

Who owns this land? Open the county property map

Grass grown on rangeland and pasture

Grass grown in 2025: 3,463 lb per acre, a little above normal (106% of the 1991-2020 average of 3,263).

How to read this

Each bar is one year's grass (darker = perennial grasses, lighter = annuals). The dashed line is the 1991-2020 average. A county average with cropland excluded, not your pasture.

How we got this

Satellite estimate of new above-ground growth of grasses and forbs for the year (annual + perennial, lb/acre), averaged over the county's grassland, pasture and shrubland (76% of the county in USDA's 2025 cropland map; farm fields are left out because the estimate isn't valid there, and the same 2025 map is used for every year). About about 120 m (RAP overview). Source: Rangeland Analysis Platform biomass v3 (data, Jones et al. 2021, CC0) and USDA NASS Cropland Data Layer.

Source: Rangeland Analysis Platform, 2025 season. Fetched Nov 13, 2026.

Nearest USDA-reported sale barns

  1. Paris Stockyards Paris, KY 3 mi · sells Mondays · latest USDA report Nov 9, 2026
  2. Blue Grass Stockyards Mt. Sterling, KY 17 mi · sells Wednesdays · latest USDA report Nov 11, 2026
  3. Blue Grass Stockyards Lexington, KY 19 mi · sells Mondays · latest USDA report Nov 9, 2026
  4. Farmers Stockyards Flemingsburg, KY 30 mi · sells Tuesdays · latest USDA report Nov 10, 2026
  5. Blue Grass Stockyards Richmond, KY 33 mi · sells Fridays · latest USDA report Nov 13, 2026

Miles are straight-line from the county center. Sale days come from the barns' recent USDA AMS reports; call the barn to confirm. All barns

Common questions and nearby counties

Is Bourbon County eligible for LFP in 2026?

Not on FSA's 2026 LFP county list as of Nov 5, 2026. FSA updates the list as drought changes.

Source: FSA LFP county file of Nov 5, 2026

What is the drought level in Bourbon County this week?

On the Drought Monitor map of Nov 10, 2026, most of Bourbon County was in no drought, and the worst part was no drought on 0% of the county. 0 straight weeks with some severe drought (D2) or worse.

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, map of Nov 10, 2026

Is there a burn ban in Bourbon County?

No official statewide list to check: Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for Kentucky; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices.

What sale barns are near Bourbon County?

The nearest USDA-reported sale barns: Paris KY (3 mi), last report Nov 9, 2026; Mt. Sterling KY (17 mi), last report Nov 11, 2026; Lexington KY (19 mi), last report Nov 9, 2026.

Source: USDA AMS Market News reports

What are the upcoming FSA and farm deadlines?

Next: Nov 20, 2026: Micro Farm 2027: last day to buy crop insurance; Nov 20, 2026: Whole Farm Revenue Protection 2027: last day to buy crop insurance. FSA program dates not posted officially are marked "confirm at source" on the calendar.

Source: official agency pages (see Calendar)

Information only; not financial or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Always check the linked official source.