Farmland Atlas · county record

Lyon County, Nevada

Lyon County, NV: irrigated cash rent $178 an acre (2023); land and buildings $3,107 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 0.47 since 1989. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 32019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cropland here is 100 percent irrigated, and groundwater supplies only 6 percent of that water, so the county depends on surface delivery. Drought exposure is present: severe drought or worse covered the county 491 of 1357 weeks between 2000-2025, with 2013 the worst year at 53 weeks, and 96 weeks came in 2021-2025 alone. July nights have warmed, running 58.8 F over 2017-2026 against a 56.5 F normal for 1991-2020, with a warming trend of 1.06 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$178/ac
2023 county average
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$3,107/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NV median $1,791 · 2nd highest of 13
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.56
2016–2025, closed crop years
NV median $10.54 · lowest of 4
Farmland rented
9%
2022 census, rented from others
NV median 15% · 4th lowest of 12

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300201020152020$146$178 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.

Irrigated, 2023$178/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,107/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,194/ac
Census 2017$2,286/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+35.9%+6.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$1.56
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.73claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.47$3.3 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2024price decline (revenue policies) 49% · freeze 35% · heat and drought 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250530

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, 2000–2025491 of 1,357 weeks36% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202596 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.8 °F1991–2020 normal 56.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+1.06 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September2.7 in1991–2020 normal
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022100%
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland2,474 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland2,062 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Irrigation wells on record483Nevada DWR well driller reports (new wells)
Median well depth324 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202519.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202240,360−23.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 20229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Lyon County$178 2023$3,107$1.56
Mono County, CA—$3,138—
Carson City—$13,675—
Churchill County$199$2,955$5.64
Douglas County—$2,627—
Mineral County$79$374—
Storey County—$77,197—
Washoe County—$1,083—
Median next door$139 2 co.$2,955$5.64 1 co.

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. Lyon County, Nevada. 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/nevada/lyon-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.