Farmland Atlas · county record

Saline County, Nebraska

Saline County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $152 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,669 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 163.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31151. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Saline County runs $152 per acre in 2026, up 2 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent is $269 per acre, and the irrigated multiple sits at 1.77 in 2026 against 1.79 in 2008, with no clear direction over that span. Heat and drought account for 66 percent of crop insurance indemnities across 1989-2025, and the share by period runs 20 percent in 1989-1999, 75 percent in 2000-2009, 68 percent in 2010-2019, and 65 percent in 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 is 0.78, above the 0.65 ratio for the full 1989-2025 record. Land value, per the operators' own 2022 estimate, is $5,669 per acre, up 20.2 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$152/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 37th highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$269/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · tied for 35th lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$5,669/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 35th highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
163.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 163.4 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 17th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.01
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 43rd highest of 90
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 37th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$94$152 dry$167$269 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$152/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+2.0%nominal, $149 to $152
Irrigated, 2026$269/ac
Pasture, 2026$41/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,669/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,818/ac
Census 2017$4,716/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+20.2%+3.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 47% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024161.0189.1median 163.7

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

Median, 2008–2025163.7 bu/ac17 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025163.4 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 123.2 bu/ac75% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.5 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.133.450.381.00: 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$5.01
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.78claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.65$116.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 30
Worst year2023ratio 3.45
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 66% · hail 17% · price decline (revenue policies) 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202535520

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, 2000–2025206 of 1,357 weeks15% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202352 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202592 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.2 °F1991–2020 normal 65.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.11 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 93% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202247%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland11,571 ac
Farmed no-till, 202260% of cropland149,748 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland5,291 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202146212,9765,362

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,362 ac2.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,002 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$131/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)1,414
Median well depth160 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20251.6 MW solar · 300 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202218,653−35.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Saline County$152$269$5,669163.7$5.01
Fillmore County$174$314$7,359192.8$3.20
Gage County$176$278$5,474151.7$3.47
Jefferson County$159$295$5,724164.9$4.75
Lancaster County$190$274$6,481156.8$5.03
Seward County$205$311$7,516180.6$4.00
Median next door$176$295$6,481164.9$4.00

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. Saline 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/saline-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.