McPherson County, Nebraska
McPherson County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $40 an acre (2025); land and buildings $1,006 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31117. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in McPherson County averages $40 per acre in 2025, down 23.1 percent from 2014. Irrigated cash rent for 2026 is $146 per acre. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has moved from 0 percent in 1989-1999, to 15 percent in 2000-2009, to 17 percent in 2010-2019, to 61 percent in 2020-2025. Hail remains the largest single cause of indemnities across 1989-2025, closed crop years, at 56 percent, out of a total of $4.8 million paid. The county saw 316 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, with 50 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025. Irrigation draws 89 percent of its water from groundwater, 2015, from a base of 966 registered wells.
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
NE median $272 · 2nd lowest of 78
NE median $4,499 · lowest of 93
NE median $4.74 · 19th highest of 90
NE median 49% · 22nd lowest of 93
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McPherson County | $40 2025 | $146 | $1,006 | — | $8.38 |
| Arthur County | — | $174 2025 | $1,091 | — | $13.25 |
| Hooker County | — | — | $1,028 | — | — |
| Keith County | $56 | $218 | $2,431 | 158.0 | $6.41 |
| Lincoln County | $66 | $263 | $2,340 | 172.6 | $5.07 |
| Logan County | $49 | $191 | $1,355 | 170.2 | $5.07 |
| Thomas County | — | — | $1,065 | — | — |
| Median next door | $56 | $218 | $1,223 | 170.2 | $5.74 |
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. McPherson 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/mcpherson-countyEvery 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.