Farmland Atlas · county record

Seward County, Kansas

Seward County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $37 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,215 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20175. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Irrigated cash rent runs $137 per acre against $37 per acre non-irrigated in Seward County, and 54 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, all of it from groundwater. Non-irrigated rent is up 34.5 percent from 2016 to 2026. Heat and drought account for 57 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, and that cause's share by period runs 26 percent, 42 percent, 66 percent, then 56 percent. The county spent 385 of 1357 weeks since 2000 in severe drought or worse, with 81 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025. Water rights carry a median priority year of 1976 across 1004 irrigation points of diversion. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with none proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$37/ac
2026 county average
KS median $58 · 8th lowest of 102
Cash rent, irrigated
$137/ac
2026 county average
KS median $159 · 8th lowest of 28
Land and buildings
$2,215/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KS median $2,272 · 49th lowest of 104
Corn yield, 2009–2023 median
185.4 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 197.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.28
2016–2025, closed crop years
KS median $12.59 · 21st lowest of 104
Farmland rented
64%
2022 census, rented from others
KS median 54% · 10th highest of 104

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$26$37 dry$71$137 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$37/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+34.5%nominal, $28 to $37
Irrigated, 2026$137/ac
Pasture, 2026$14/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,215/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,151/ac
Census 2017$1,410/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+57.1%+9.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 54% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20092011201320152017201920212023201.0179.6160.8194.2173.1186.9183.9221.0211.1181.1median 185.4

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

Median, 2009–2023185.4 bu/ac10 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2019–2023197.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 160.8 bu/ac87% of median
Trend, 2009–2023+1.3 bu/ac a year±2.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620211.142.000.091.00: 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$8.28
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.80claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.91$116.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium9 of 25
Worst year2023ratio 2.00
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 57% · hail 18% · freeze 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250530

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, 2000–2025385 of 1,357 weeks28% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202581 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.3 °F1991–2020 normal 65.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.22 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September14.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 112% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202254%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202218% of cropland49,869 ac
Cover crops, 202210% of cropland28,095 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202163777,323

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

CRP enrolled, 202577,323 ac31.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202816,920 ac22% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$29/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Active irrigation water rights (Kansas)1,004
Median priority year1976
Cattle and calves, 202296,950−19.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202264%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Seward County$37$137$2,215$8.28
Haskell County$41$145$2,527$9.11
Meade County$46—$2,227$6.60
Stevens County$36$131$1,792$9.38
Beaver County, OK$20$86$1,100$18.15
Texas County, OK$28$113$1,212$14.24
Median next door$36$122$1,792$9.38

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. Seward 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/seward-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.