Farmland Atlas · county record

Fresno County, California

Fresno County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2026); land and buildings $16,378 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated cash rent in Fresno County runs $305 per acre, against $22 per acre for non-irrigated ground, which fell 45 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigation covers 98 percent of harvested cropland, and 53 percent of that water came from groundwater in 2015. July nights have warmed to a 60.8 F average low over 2017-2026, up from 58.7 F in the 1991-2020 normal, part of a 1.1 F per decade warming trend since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2026 county average
CA median $35 · lowest of 20
Cash rent, irrigated
$305/ac
2026 county average
CA median $431 · tied for 10th lowest of 40
Land and buildings
$16,378/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CA median $11,471 · 12th highest of 52
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.95
2016–2025, closed crop years
CA median $7.22 · 14th lowest of 42
Farmland rented
31%
2022 census, rented from others
CA median 43% · 10th lowest of 55

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$4002010201520202025$55$22 dry$220$305 irrigated

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$22/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−45.0%nominal, $40 to $22
Irrigated, 2026$305/ac
Pasture, 2026$12/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$16,378/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,286/ac
Census 2017$11,359/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+44.2%+7.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920241.562.011.291.00: claims equal premium

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$5.95
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.20claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.99$1.70 billion paid
Years claims exceeded premium10 of 37
Worst year2022ratio 2.01
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 26% · irrigation failure 22% · heat and drought 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250520

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, 2000–2025425 of 1,357 weeks31% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201652 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025100 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.8 °F1991–2020 normal 58.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+1.10 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September3.2 in1991–2020 normal
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202298%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland29,540 ac
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland20,807 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland43,199 ac
198619911996200120062011201620212752870

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Irrigation wells on record10,489California DWR well completion reports (new wells)
Median well depth275 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20251,822.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022467,508+24.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202231%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Fresno County$22$305$16,378$5.95
Inyo County——$961—
Kings County$22 2024$305$10,391$7.87
Madera County$66$410$13,239$4.37
Merced County$33$411$16,527$3.54
Mono County——$3,138—
Monterey County$14 2024$1,810 2025$12,799$5.65
San Benito County$16 2024$651$5,362$7.64
Tulare County$42$450$15,617$5.06
Median next door$42$411$11,595$5.36

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. Fresno County, California. 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/california/fresno-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.