Farmland Atlas · county record

Nemaha County, Kansas

Nemaha County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $159 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,538 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 144.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20131. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Nemaha County runs $159 per acre for 2026, up 20.5 percent from 2016. Census land and buildings value stood at $4,538 per acre in 2022, up 51 percent from 2017, 8.6 percent a year. Cropland here is mostly dry: only 1 percent of harvested cropland was irrigated in the 2022 census, and the July nightly low averaged 66.3 F over 2017-2026 against a 65.8 F normal for 1991-2020, with no clear direction in the trend since 1976. Heat and drought drove 82 percent of crop insurance indemnities across 1989-2025, and that share rose from 23 percent in 1989-1999 to 83 percent in 2000-2009 to 88 percent in 2010-2019, then fell to 77 percent in 2020-2025. Wind operating capacity is 300 MW; solar operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$159/ac
2026 county average
KS median $58 · 3rd highest of 102
Cash rent, irrigated
$223/ac
2021 county average
too few 2021 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$4,538/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KS median $2,272 · 6th highest of 104
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
144.9 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 178.5
KS median 116.7 · 7th highest of 36
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.15
2016–2025, closed crop years
KS median $12.59 · 13th lowest of 104
Farmland rented
42%
2022 census, rented from others
KS median 54% · 9th lowest of 104

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$83$159 dry

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$159/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+20.5%nominal, $132 to $159
Irrigated, 2021$223/ac
Pasture, 2026$40/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.89$159 ÷ 178.5 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,538/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,822/ac
Census 2017$3,006/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+51.0%+8.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.06%$139 ÷ $4,538; cropland 73% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024123.0191.5median 144.9

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

Median, 2008–2024144.9 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024178.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 70.5 bu/ac49% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+3.6 bu/ac a year±3.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020251.024.860.031.00: 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$5.15
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.43claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.57$148.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 31
Worst year2002ratio 4.86
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 82% · excess moisture 8% · price decline (revenue policies) 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202518280

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+ weeks200328 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20252 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.3 °F1991–2020 normal 65.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.08 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202218% of cropland52,815 ac
Farmed no-till, 202270% of cropland210,055 ac
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland32,938 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202181832,4535,044

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,044 ac1.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,040 ac40% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$137/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Active irrigation water rights (Kansas)105
Median priority year2013
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 300 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202288,229+50.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202242%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Nemaha County$159—$4,538144.9$5.15
Brown County$184$232 2023$5,136173.6$1.93
Jackson County$92—$3,276137.1$3.50
Marshall County$126—$3,880—$3.47
Pottawatomie County$98—$3,188—$3.34
Pawnee County, NE$176—$4,499141.1$4.05
Richardson County, NE$211—$5,087162.3$1.84
Median next door$151—$4,190151.7$3.41

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. Nemaha 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/nemaha-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.