Farmland Atlas · county record

Lincoln County, Nebraska

Lincoln County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $66 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,340 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 172.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31111. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated cropland in Lincoln County rents for $263 per acre in 2026, against $66 per acre for non-irrigated ground, and 58 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated as of the 2022 census. Groundwater supplies 84 percent of that irrigation, drawn from 8,358 registered wells, with a median depth of 300 feet and a median static water level of 66 feet at drilling. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has moved 4 percent, 32 percent, 34 percent, 53 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. Hail remains the largest cause of indemnities overall at 44 percent. Solar and wind operating capacity is 0 MW, with none proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$66/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 19th lowest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$263/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · tied for 31st lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$2,340/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 29th lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
172.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 187.2 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 25th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.07
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · tied for 40th highest of 90
Farmland rented
41%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 25th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$41$66 dry$150$263 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$66/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+37.5%nominal, $48 to $66
Irrigated, 2026$263/ac
Pasture, 2026$30/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,340/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,436/ac
Census 2017$1,674/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+39.8%+6.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024166.0213.7179.9median 172.6

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

Median, 2008–2025172.6 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025187.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2020: 155.4 bu/ac90% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.4 bu/ac a year±1.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.771.600.441.00: 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$5.07
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.63$193.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 34
Worst year2000ratio 1.60
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025hail 44% · heat and drought 37% · price decline (revenue policies) 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202521533

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, 2000–2025359 of 1,357 weeks27% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202562 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.6 °F1991–2020 normal 60.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.18 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September17.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger8.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202258%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland11,582 ac
Farmed no-till, 202240% of cropland180,555 ac
Cover crops, 202212% of cropland52,896 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202170625,65623,206

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

CRP enrolled, 202523,206 ac5.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028699 ac3% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$38/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)2,432
Median well depth300 ft
Cattle and calves, 2022305,622+0.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202241%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lincoln County$66$263$2,340172.6$5.07
Custer County$100$240$2,892176.6$4.00
Dawson County$128$273$4,897198.0$3.29
Frontier County$68$211$2,370136.0$9.24
Hayes County$62$230$2,196147.7$10.80
Keith County$56$218$2,431158.0$6.41
Logan County$49$191$1,355170.2$5.07
McPherson County$40 2025$146$1,006—$8.38
Perkins County$54$212$2,196—$10.73
Median next door$62$215$2,283164.1$7.40

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. Lincoln 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/lincoln-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.