Farmland Atlas · county record

Gage County, Nebraska

Gage County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $176 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,474 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 151.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31067. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Gage County is $176 per acre in 2026, up 12.8 percent from 2016. Irrigation draws 79 percent of its water from groundwater, with 802 irrigation wells not yet decommissioned.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$176/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · tied for 30th highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$278/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · 34th highest of 78
Land and buildings
$5,474/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 38th highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
151.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 166.1 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 9th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.47
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 20th lowest of 90
Farmland rented
51%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 42nd highest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$89$176 dry$166$278 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$176/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+12.8%nominal, $156 to $176
Irrigated, 2026$278/ac
Pasture, 2026$58/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,474/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,491/ac
Census 2017$4,427/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+23.7%+4.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 18% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024141.0177.2median 151.7

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

Median, 2008–2025151.7 bu/ac17 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025166.1 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 89.7 bu/ac59% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.1 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020251.272.230.061.00: 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$3.47
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.44claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.49$145.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 31
Worst year2012ratio 2.23
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 68% · hail 11% · excess moisture 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025380

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, 2000–2025139 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200038 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202514 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.7 °F1991–2020 normal 65.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.08 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September23.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202217% of cropland76,759 ac
Farmed no-till, 202278% of cropland358,855 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland23,955 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,17749,06118,053

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

CRP enrolled, 202518,053 ac4.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,655 ac20% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$129/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)802
Median well depth160 ft
Cattle and calves, 202233,769+3.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202251%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Gage County$176$278$5,474151.7$3.47
Marshall County, KS$126—$3,880—$3.47
Washington County, KS$92—$2,737—$4.13
Jefferson County$159$295$5,724164.9$4.75
Johnson County$184$298 2025$4,389147.0$3.43
Lancaster County$190$274$6,481156.8$5.03
Pawnee County$176—$4,499141.1$4.05
Saline County$152$269$5,669163.7$5.01
Median next door$159$274$4,499156.8$4.13

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. Gage County, Nebraska. 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/nebraska/gage-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.