Farmland Atlas · county record

Jefferson County, Nebraska

Jefferson County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $159 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,724 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 164.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31095. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $159 per acre in 2026, up 19.5 percent from 2016. Land values rose 37.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, reaching $5,724 per acre.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$159/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 35th highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$295/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · tied for 24th highest of 78
Land and buildings
$5,724/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 34th highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
164.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 161.0 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 18th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.75
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 45th highest of 90
Farmland rented
52%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 40th highest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$92$159 dry$168$295 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$159/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.5%nominal, $133 to $159
Irrigated, 2026$295/ac
Pasture, 2026$47/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,724/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,928/ac
Census 2017$4,151/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+37.9%+6.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 43% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024161.0185.3174.5median 164.9

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

Median, 2008–2025164.9 bu/ac17 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025161.0 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 123.5 bu/ac75% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+0.5 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.104.280.181.00: 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$4.75
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.79claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.58$88.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 30
Worst year2023ratio 4.28
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 80% · price decline (revenue policies) 5% · excess moisture 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025360

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, 2000–2025166 of 1,357 weeks12% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200036 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202553 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.2 °F1991–2020 normal 65.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.13 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 93% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202243%
Drained by tile, 20229% of cropland19,362 ac
Farmed no-till, 202281% of cropland181,676 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland6,555 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202118317,04910,510

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

CRP enrolled, 202510,510 ac4.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,661 ac16% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$102/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)975
Median well depth200 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 78.8 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202224,761−28.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202252%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Jefferson County$159$295$5,724164.9$4.75
Washington County, KS$92—$2,737—$4.13
Gage County$176$278$5,474151.7$3.47
Saline County$152$269$5,669163.7$5.01
Thayer County$132$291$6,039183.5$4.42
Median next door$142$278$5,572163.7$4.28

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. Jefferson 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/jefferson-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.

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