Farmland Atlas · county record

McPherson County, Kansas

McPherson County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $71 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,653 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 129.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20113. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Irrigation draws 96 percent of its water from groundwater, with 1015 irrigation points of diversion on a median priority year of 1984.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$71/ac
2026 county average
KS median $58 · tied for 28th highest of 102
Cash rent, irrigated
$152/ac
2026 county average
KS median $159 · 13th lowest of 28
Land and buildings
$3,653/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KS median $2,272 · 14th highest of 104
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
129.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 127.9
KS median 116.7 · 15th highest of 36
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.91
2016–2025, closed crop years
KS median $12.59 · 36th lowest of 104
Farmland rented
61%
2022 census, rented from others
KS median 54% · 19th highest of 104

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$50$71 dry$92$152 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$71/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+16.5%nominal, $61 to $71
Irrigated, 2026$152/ac
Pasture, 2026$29/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.55$71 ÷ 127.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,653/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,257/ac
Census 2017$2,739/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+33.4%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.81%$66 ÷ $3,653; cropland 81% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024161.0138.0median 129.4

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

Median, 2008–2025129.4 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025127.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 91.2 bu/ac71% of median
Trend, 2008–2025−0.7 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.555.300.401.00: 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$9.91
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.87claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.90$181.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 30
Worst year2007ratio 5.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 64% · freeze 15% · excess moisture 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020253410

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, 2000–2025191 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202341 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202567 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202668.5 °F1991–2020 normal 68.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.06 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Farmed no-till, 202251% of cropland235,154 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland15,020 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202157116,2684,246

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,246 ac1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028785 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$55/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Active irrigation water rights (Kansas)1,015
Median priority year1984
Solar and wind operating, 20251 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202252,445+39.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202261%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
McPherson County$71$152$3,653129.4$9.91
Ellsworth County$46—$2,106—$15.65
Harvey County$68$162 2025$3,859124.1$11.55
Marion County$56$102$2,80497.1$10.32
Reno County$53$181$2,641—$12.08
Rice County$57$164$2,366—$12.49
Saline County$65—$2,699110.4$13.37
Median next door$56$164$2,670110.4$12.29

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. McPherson 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/mcpherson-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.