Ness County, Kansas
Ness County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $42 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,424 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 90.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20135. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent for 2026 stands at $42 per acre, up 36.1 percent from 2016. Cropland here is 1 percent irrigated, so this is a heat and water story tied to rainfall more than to wells. Heat and drought caused 5 percent of indemnity dollars in 1989-1999, 74 percent in 2000-2009, 85 percent in 2010-2019, and 90 percent in 2020-2025. The county spent 306 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 with at least 50 percent of the area in severe drought or worse, with 2013 the worst year at 53 weeks.
KS median $58 · tied for 16th lowest of 102
KS median $2,272 · 4th lowest of 104
KS median $12.59 · 15th highest of 104
KS median 54% · 41st lowest of 104
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ness County | $42 | — | $1,424 | — | $19.39 |
| Ellis County | $43 2025 | — | $1,713 | — | $14.50 |
| Finney County | $50 | $210 | $2,333 | — | $13.70 |
| Gove County | $50 | $131 2025 | $1,729 | 95.4 | $20.95 |
| Hodgeman County | $38 | $88 2023 | $1,488 | — | $15.86 |
| Lane County | $41 | — | $1,677 | — | $20.53 |
| Pawnee County | $47 | $143 2023 | $1,931 | — | $9.54 |
| Rush County | $46 | — | $1,697 | — | $9.70 |
| Trego County | $41 | — | $1,600 | — | $19.31 |
| Median next door | $46 | $210 1 co. | $1,705 | 95.4 1 co. | $15.18 |
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. Ness 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/ness-countyEvery 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.