Farmland Atlas · county record

Morris County, New Jersey

Morris County, NJ: non-irrigated cash rent $55 an acre (2022); land and buildings $30,022 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 34027. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent in Morris County runs $55 per acre non-irrigated, 2022, and $130 per acre irrigated, 2024. Irrigation covers 25 percent of harvested cropland, 2022 census. The July nightly low has moved from 62.1 F, 1991-2020 normal, to 64.5 F, 2017-2026, a warming trend of 1.05 F per decade since 1976. Heat and drought caused 55 percent of crop insurance indemnities over 1999-2025, closed crop years, with the share at 73 percent for 2010-2019 and 41 percent for 2020-2025. The loss ratio held at 0.34 for both 1995-2025 and 2016-2025, and land value rose 40.1 percent from 2017-2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$55/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$130/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$30,022/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NJ median $14,983 · highest of 13
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.82
2016–2025, closed crop years
NJ median $8.47 · lowest of 12
Farmland rented
21%
2022 census, rented from others
NJ median 32% · 2nd lowest of 13

Cash rent

Non-irrigated, 2022$55/ac
Irrigated, 2024$130/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$30,022/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$23,148/ac
Census 2017$21,426/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+40.1%+7.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 25% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

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 1995. 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$3.82
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.34claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1995–20250.34$638,801 paid
Largest causes of loss, 1999–2025heat and drought 55% · freeze 25% · excess moisture 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250160

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, 2000–202534 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200216 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20255 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.5 °F1991–2020 normal 62.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+1.05 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202225%
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland447 ac
Cover crops, 202215% of cropland1,004 ac
198619911996200120062011201620215523

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

CRP enrolled, 202523 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202562.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022352−41.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202221%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Morris County—$130 2024$30,022$3.82
Essex County——$471,343—
Hunterdon County$66—$17,886$10.14
Passaic County——$43,712—
Somerset County$35—$21,660$13.39
Sussex County$42 2025—$13,039—
Union County——$105,823—
Warren County$129—$13,941$6.53
Median next door$66—$21,660$10.14

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. Morris 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/morris-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.