Farmland Atlas · county record

Riley County, Kansas

Riley County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $88 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,371 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 148.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20161. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Riley County is $88 per acre for 2026, up 16.7 percent from 2016. Cropland here is mostly dryland, with 3 percent of harvested acres irrigated in the 2022 census, so results track rainfall more than water rights. Heat and drought account for 71 percent of crop insurance indemnities paid from 1989-2025, and that share has climbed by period: 17 percent in 1989-1999, 68 percent in 2000-2009, 67 percent in 2010-2019, 89 percent in 2020-2025. The county logged 20 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 103 weeks total from 2000-2025. Census land value sits at $3,371 per acre for 2022, up 11.5 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$88/ac
2026 county average
KS median $58 · 13th highest of 102
Land and buildings
$3,371/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KS median $2,272 · 16th highest of 104
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.58
$88 ÷ 151.7 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2009–2025 median
148.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 151.7
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.27
2016–2025, closed crop years
KS median $12.59 · 14th lowest of 104
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
KS median 54% · 31st highest of 104

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802010201520202025$48$88 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$88/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+16.7%nominal, $75 to $88
Pasture, 2026$31/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.58$88 ÷ 151.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,371/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,829/ac
Census 2017$3,022/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+11.5%+2.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 43% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200920112013201520172019202120232025148.0163.4median 148.0

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

Median, 2009–2025148.0 bu/ac13 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025151.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 84.3 bu/ac57% of median
Trend, 2009–2025+2.9 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720220.521.580.031.00: 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$5.27
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.50claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.49$21.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 19
Worst year2023ratio 1.58
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 71% · excess moisture 15% · freeze 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202511260

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, 2000–2025103 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201226 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202520 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202668.1 °F1991–2020 normal 67.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.19 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20223%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland272 ac
Farmed no-till, 202259% of cropland53,031 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland3,910 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021274,6241,066

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,066 ac1.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028132 ac12% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$79/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Active irrigation water rights (Kansas)231
Median priority year1978
Solar and wind operating, 20254.4 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202223,641−18.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Riley County$88—$3,371—$5.27
Clay County$99$199 2025$3,165—$9.22
Geary County$77$143 2023$2,862145.6$6.68
Marshall County$126—$3,880—$3.47
Pottawatomie County$98—$3,188—$3.34
Wabaunsee County$63—$2,694—$5.06
Washington County$92—$2,737—$4.13
Median next door$95—$3,014145.6 1 co.$4.60

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. Riley 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/riley-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.