Farmland Atlas · county record

Richardson County, Nebraska

Richardson County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $211 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,087 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 162.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31147. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Richardson County runs $211 per acre in 2026, down 1.9 percent from 2016. Census land value stands at $5,087 per acre in 2022, up 19.2 percent from 2017, or 3.6 percent a year, and that 2026 rent works out to 3.93 percent of the 2022 census value. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 at 48 percent of $72.7 million paid out, with the loss ratio at 0.41 over that span and 0.25 over 2016-2025. That share moved from 12 percent in 1989-1999 to 65 percent in 2000-2009, then 50 percent in 2010-2019 and 51 percent in 2020-2025. Weeks in severe drought or worse fell to 4 for 2021-2025, against 109 of 1357 weeks counted from 2000-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$211/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 21st highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$244/ac
2017 county average
too few 2017 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$5,087/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 42nd highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
162.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 182.9
NE median 179.3 · 16th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.84
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · lowest of 90
Farmland rented
43%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 29th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$123$211 dry

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$211/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−1.9%nominal, $215 to $211
Irrigated, 2017$244/ac
Pasture, 2026$49/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.15$211 ÷ 182.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,087/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,812/ac
Census 2017$4,267/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+19.2%+3.6% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.93%$200 ÷ $5,087; cropland 81% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024141.0194.8185.1median 162.3

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

Median, 2008–2025162.3 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025182.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 102.9 bu/ac63% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.7 bu/ac a year±1.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19941999200420092014201920240.022.580.121.00: 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$1.84
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.25claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.41$72.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 32
Worst year2002ratio 2.58
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 48% · excess moisture 33% · price decline (revenue policies) 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202519320

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, 2000–2025109 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200332 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20254 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.8 °F1991–2020 normal 66.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.16 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.9 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 cropland44,258 ac
Farmed no-till, 202272% of cropland185,727 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland11,987 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,29633,77218,579

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

CRP enrolled, 202518,579 ac7.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,647 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$172/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)112
Median well depth81 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 60 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202213,256−47.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202243%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Richardson County$211—$5,087162.3$1.84
Brown County, KS$184$232 2023$5,136173.6$1.93
Doniphan County, KS$193—$4,754—$1.46
Nemaha County, KS$159—$4,538144.9$5.15
Holt County, MO$217—$5,713—$4.71
Nemaha County$213$288 2023$6,778169.3$2.72
Pawnee County$176—$4,499141.1$4.05
Median next door$189—$4,945157.1$3.39

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. Richardson 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/richardson-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.