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Lenoir County, NC

Cattle prices near Lenoir County, North Carolina. The closest sale barn with a recent report is Smithfield NC in Smithfield, NC, about 45 miles away. On Nov 12, 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) averaged $327.54 per hundredweight on 41 head (USDA). Check a bid against your own costs with Ring Price.

Check a bid with Ring Price

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CRP emergency haying & grazing: Lenoir County is on FSA's list (since Sep 1, 2026). Check with your FSA county office first. Details · FSA list as of Nov 5, 2026.
Drought SevereD2 · most of county Drought pay (LFP) Eligibleup to 4 payments Burn ban Checkcall the county Smithfield NC 5-wt steers $328▼ $20 since last sale

Lenoir County rain, outlook and forecast

As of the Nov 10 Drought Monitor, most of Lenoir County, NC was in severe drought (D2), with 9% at extreme drought (D3); week 33 in a row with some severe drought (D2) or worse. Rain has run 59% of normal over the last 30 days (below normal) and 52% over 90 days; no day in the 7-day forecast tops a 2% rain chance and the 6-10 day outlook for Nov 20–24 leans toward near-normal rain. FSA's 2026 LFP list includes Lenoir County with up to 4 monthly payments, and the nearest USDA-reported sale barn is Smithfield NC, 45 miles away.

Rain vs normal

  • Last 30 days 59% of normal
  • Last 60 days 61% of normal
  • Last 90 days 52% 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 (40% chance of above-normal rain)

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

Next 7 days

  1. Today Widespread Frost then Sunny, high 57°, low 31°, 0% rain, wind 0–6 mph
  2. Monday Sunny, high 57°, low 31°, 0% rain, wind 3–8 mph
  3. Tuesday Sunny, high 62°, low 33°, 0% rain, wind 3–7 mph
  4. Wednesday Sunny, high 66°, low 32°, 0% rain, wind 1–5 mph
  5. Thursday Sunny, high 69°, low 36°, 1% rain, wind 1–2 mph
  6. Friday Sunny, high 70°, low 37°, 1% rain, wind 1–3 mph
  7. Saturday Sunny, high 71°, 2% rain, wind 5 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 Lenoir 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.

Lenoir County grass production

In 2025, grassland and pasture in Lenoir County grew about 1,231 pounds per acre of grass and forbs, 176% of the county's 1991-2020 normal of 700 pounds per acre. That was the 5th best of 40 years on record (1986-2025). Best year: 1990 at 1,480 pounds per acre; worst: 2014 at 313.

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 1 open

What happenedStartedTell FSA early byFSA deadline
Extreme drought (D3) reached (U.S. Drought Monitor) Nov 3, 2026Dec 3, 2026 (18 days left)Mar 1, 2027

If this cost you livestock, extra feed or hauled water, call your county FSA office now, while it's fresh. The 30-day date is a suggestion from Cownty; FSA's deadline for the notice of loss and application is the March 1 date. Log it in your Drought Ledger · Find your FSA office and phone

Text YES CLOCK for a reminder on day 21 and day 28.

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

Drought-sale tax flag IRS list

Lenoir 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)

Drought pasture pay (LFP)

On FSA's 2026 list for 4 pasture types. Up to 4 monthly payments.

Bring head counts, grazing leases and pasture acres to your county FSA office.

How to read this

Each bar is a pasture type; the number is how many monthly payments it qualifies for (1 to 5).

Pasture table
Pasture typeGrazing periodQualifying datePayments
Forage Sorghum2026-05-15 to 2026-10-012026-06-114
Full Season Improved2026-03-15 to 2026-11-302026-04-274
Native Pasture2026-03-15 to 2026-11-302026-04-274
Long Season Small Grains2025-11-01 to 2026-06-012026-02-092

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

Guide: How LFP works and who qualifies

Guide: ELAP and LIP basics

USDA disaster declarations

  • Jul 28, 2026 · Drought
    Lenoir declared · crop year 2026
  • Jun 4, 2026 · Drought
    Neighboring county declared (counts for Lenoir) · crop year 2026
  • Apr 10, 2026 · Drought
    Neighboring county declared (counts for Lenoir) · crop year 2026
  • Jun 2, 2025 · Drought
    Neighboring county declared (counts for Lenoir) · crop year 2025
  • May 5, 2025 · Drought
    Neighboring county declared (counts for Lenoir) · crop year 2025

"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 (dated Jan 28, 2026, Oct 19, 2026). Fetched Nov 9, 2026.

Guide: What a disaster designation means

CRP emergency haying and grazing

Open Lenoir County is on FSA's emergency haying and grazing list, starting Sep 1, 2026. Trigger: D2 (severe) drought on the Drought Monitor. Get an updated conservation plan from FSA before cutting or turning out.

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.

Guide: CRP emergency haying and grazing rules

Screwworm (Texas Animal Health Commission)

Data pending. animal-health alerts are read for Texas (TAHC) and Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico (state ag departments); North Carolina's state veterinarian isn't read yet

Guide: Screwworm: what to know

New FSA programs: watch list
DateScopeReleaseFlag
Nov 4, 2026MississippiUSDA Designates one Tennessee Counties as Natural Disaster Areas
Nov 4, 2026Hawaii and Pacific IslandsUSDA Extends Application Deadline for Emergency Conservation Program Assistance for Guam and CNMI Counties for Typhoon Bavi Impacts
Nov 4, 2026NebraskaUSDA Authorizes Deadline Extension for Emergency Conservation Program in Several Wildfire-Impacted Counties
Nov 4, 2026FloridaUSDA Designates 9 Alabama Counties as Natural Disaster Areas
Nov 3, 2026AlabamaUSDA Designates 9 Alabama Counties as Natural Disaster Areas
Text me Lenoir County changes

Nearest USDA-reported sale barns

  1. Powell Livestock Company Smithfield, NC 45 mi · sells Thursdays · latest USDA report Nov 12, 2026
  2. Southeastern Auction Co. Inc. Chadbourn, NC 92 mi · sells Mondays · latest USDA report Nov 9, 2026
  3. Carolina Stockyards Siler City, NC 108 mi · sells Mondays · latest USDA report Nov 9, 2026
  4. Southside Livestock Blackstone, VA 129 mi · sells Wednesdays · latest USDA report Nov 11, 2026
  5. Stanly County Livestock Market Norwood, NC 140 mi · sells Wednesdays · latest USDA report Nov 11, 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

Other barns nearby (not USDA-reported)

These barns are not in a USDA AMS report, so Cownty shows no prices for them. Sale days and phones come from the barns' own sites or public listings; call the barn to confirm. More barns

Printable county brief (PDF) · Everything on one page · Nearest USDA hay reports (none for North Carolina): Tennessee

Common questions and nearby counties

Is Lenoir County eligible for LFP in 2026?

Yes. Lenoir County is on FSA's 2026 Livestock Forage Disaster Program county list, with up to 4 monthly payments for some pasture types. FSA decides each operation's eligibility; apply at your county FSA office by March 1 after the loss year.

Source: FSA LFP county file of Nov 5, 2026

What is the drought level in Lenoir County this week?

On the Drought Monitor map of Nov 10, 2026, most of Lenoir County was in severe drought (D2), and the worst part was extreme drought (D3) on 9% of the county. 33 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 Lenoir County?

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

What sale barns are near Lenoir County?

The nearest USDA-reported sale barns: Smithfield NC (45 mi), last report Nov 12, 2026; Chadbourn NC (92 mi), last report Nov 9, 2026; Siler City NC (108 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.