Farmland Atlas · county record

Mercer County, New Jersey

Mercer County, NJ: non-irrigated cash rent $55 an acre (2026); land and buildings $26,811 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 128.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 34021. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent, non-irrigated
$55/ac
2026 county average
NJ median $84 · 2nd lowest of 10
Cash rent, irrigated
$297/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$26,811/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NJ median $14,983 · 3rd highest of 13
Corn yield, 2008–2016 median
128.8 bu/ac
9 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.12
2016–2025, closed crop years
NJ median $8.47 · 5th highest of 12
Farmland rented
44%
2022 census, rented from others
NJ median 32% · highest of 13

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300202120222023202420252026$74$55 dry$156$297 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$55/ac
Irrigated, 2024$297/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$26,811/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$20,310/ac
Census 2017$18,114/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+48.0%+8.2% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.25%$67 ÷ $26,811; cropland 70% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820092010201120122013201420152016126.0131.082.1121.6120.8132.3150.8128.8149.2median 128.8

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

Median, 2008–2016128.8 bu/ac9 published years
Lowest published year2010: 82.1 bu/ac64% of median

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$9.12
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.01claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.70$3.0 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 80% · excess moisture 12% · other 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250303

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, 2000–202547 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200230 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202512 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.9 °F1991–2020 normal 65.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.82 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20226%
Drained by tile, 20229% of cropland1,188 ac
Farmed no-till, 202230% of cropland3,929 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland739 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202109822

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

CRP enrolled, 202522 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202577.3 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022632−22.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202244%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mercer County$55$297 2024$26,811—$9.12
Burlington County$79$160$12,875—$8.16
Hunterdon County$66—$17,886—$10.14
Middlesex County$71—$26,828—$5.84
Monmouth County$101$158$25,361—$8.77
Somerset County$35—$21,660—$13.39
Bucks County, PA$45$195 2024$15,277113.3$6.11
Median next door$68$159 2 co.$19,773113.3 1 co.$8.47

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. Mercer County, New Jersey. 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/new-jersey/mercer-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.