Seward County, Nebraska
Seward County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $205 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,516 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 180.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31159. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Seward County runs $205 per acre in 2026, up 25.8 percent from 2016. Irrigated cash rent stands at $311 per acre, a multiple of 1.52 over non-irrigated, compared to 1.63 in 2008, with no clear direction in that multiple over time. Fifty-four percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, and 89 percent of irrigation water comes from groundwater, drawn from 3,897 registered wells at a median depth of 161 feet. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $110.6 million, with heat and drought the largest cause at 56 percent; that share was 35 percent in 1989-1999, 71 percent in 2000-2009, 55 percent in 2010-2019, and 51 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value reached $7,516 per acre in 2022, up 31.6 percent from 2017.
NE median $141 · 22nd highest of 80
NE median $272 · 15th highest of 78
NE median $4,499 · 11th highest of 93
NE median 179.3 · tied for 32nd highest of 67
NE median $4.74 · tied for 28th lowest of 90
NE median 49% · 22nd highest 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
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seward County | $205 | $311 | $7,516 | 180.6 | $4.00 |
| Butler County | $226 | $324 | $6,462 | 186.4 | $3.93 |
| Lancaster County | $190 | $274 | $6,481 | 156.8 | $5.03 |
| Saline County | $152 | $269 | $5,669 | 163.7 | $5.01 |
| York County | $164 2025 | $306 | $7,906 | 201.5 | $5.11 |
| Median next door | $190 | $290 | $6,472 | 175.1 | $5.02 |
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. Seward 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/seward-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.