Farmland Atlas · county record

Brown County, Kansas

Brown County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $184 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,136 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 173.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20013. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Brown County averages $184 per acre for 2026, up 0.5 percent from 2016. Irrigated cash rent was $232 per acre in 2023. Census land value stood at $5,136 per acre in 2022, up 46.4 percent from 2017, or 7.9 percent a year; the 2022 non-irrigated rent was 3.52 percent of that value. Corn yield trend runs 3.4 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 173.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 114.9 in 2012. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$184/ac
2026 county average
KS median $58 · 2nd highest of 102
Cash rent, irrigated
$232/ac
2023 county average
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$5,136/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KS median $2,272 · 2nd highest of 104
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
173.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 200.8
KS median 116.7 · 2nd highest of 36
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.93
2016–2025, closed crop years
KS median $12.59 · 3rd lowest of 104
Farmland rented
49%
2022 census, rented from others
KS median 54% · 27th lowest of 104

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$106$184 dry$236$232 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$184/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+0.5%nominal, $183 to $184
Irrigated, 2023$232/ac
Pasture, 2026$49/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.92$184 ÷ 200.8 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,136/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,271/ac
Census 2017$3,507/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+46.4%+7.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.52%$181 ÷ $5,136; cropland 80% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024139.0205.9median 173.6

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

Median, 2008–2025173.6 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025200.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 114.9 bu/ac66% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.4 bu/ac a year±2.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19941999200420092014201920240.033.270.091.00: 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$1.93
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.25claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.34$74.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 32
Worst year2002ratio 3.27
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 70% · excess moisture 13% · price decline (revenue policies) 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020257380

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, 2000–2025109 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200338 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20256 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.8 °F1991–2020 normal 66.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.14 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 96% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20224%
Drained by tile, 202223% of cropland63,425 ac
Farmed no-till, 202289% of cropland242,898 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland8,709 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202121811,5583,336

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,336 ac1.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028618 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$165/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Active irrigation water rights (Kansas)229
Median priority year2011
Cattle and calves, 202222,791+25.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202249%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Brown County$184$232 2023$5,136173.6$1.93
Atchison County$131—$4,435149.0$1.11
Doniphan County$193—$4,754—$1.46
Jackson County$92—$3,276137.1$3.50
Nemaha County$159—$4,538144.9$5.15
Richardson County, NE$211—$5,087162.3$1.84
Median next door$159—$4,538147.0$1.84

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. Brown County, Kansas. 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/kansas/brown-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.