Farmland Atlas · county record

Thomas County, Kansas

Thomas County, KS: non-irrigated cash rent $65 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,525 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 113.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 20193. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Thomas County runs $65 per acre in 2026, up 17.1 percent from 2016. The county carried severe drought or worse for 94 weeks between 2021-2025. Land value reached $2,525 per acre in 2022, up 44.5 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$65/ac
2026 county average
KS median $58 · tied for 38th highest of 102
Cash rent, irrigated
$189/ac
2026 county average
KS median $159 · 8th highest of 28
Land and buildings
$2,525/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
KS median $2,272 · 42nd highest of 104
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
113.2 bu/ac
12 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$22.11
2016–2025, closed crop years
KS median $12.59 · 3rd highest of 104
Farmland rented
56%
2022 census, rented from others
KS median 54% · 38th highest of 104

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$35$65 dry$122$189 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$65/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+17.1%nominal, $56 to $65
Irrigated, 2026$189/ac
Pasture, 2026$19/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,525/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,132/ac
Census 2017$1,747/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+44.5%+7.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 21% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024112.0128.0120.6110.275.990.2125.1117.0114.5108.771.3114.5median 113.2

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

Median, 2008–2025113.2 bu/ac12 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2024: 71.3 bu/ac63% of median
Trend, 2008–2025−0.8 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920241.247.941.001.00: 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$22.11
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.13claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.09$593.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium13 of 37
Worst year1992ratio 7.94
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 70% · hail 17% · freeze 4%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202511530

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, 2000–2025370 of 1,357 weeks27% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202594 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.1 °F1991–2020 normal 62.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.06 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September15.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger4.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202221%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202246% of cropland243,275 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland4,421 ac
198619911996200120062011201620219426,79913,195

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

CRP enrolled, 202513,195 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,258 ac10% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$53/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Active irrigation water rights (Kansas)1,040
Median priority year1975
Solar and wind operating, 20251 MW solar · 471.4 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202251,580−14.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202256%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Thomas County$65$189$2,525—$22.11
Decatur County$53—$1,805—$20.86
Gove County$50$131 2025$1,72995.4$20.95
Logan County$50$130$1,851—$21.41
Rawlins County$67$160 2025$1,81096.1$20.06
Sheridan County$64$199$1,767—$19.44
Sherman County$63$193$1,965131.4$18.90
Median next door$58$193$1,80896.1$20.46

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. Thomas 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/thomas-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.