Farmland Atlas · county record

Salem County, New Jersey

Salem County, NJ: non-irrigated cash rent $89 an acre (2026); land and buildings $10,421 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 144.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 34033. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Salem County runs $89 per acre in 2026, up 30.9 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $164 per acre, a multiple of 1.84 times the non-irrigated rate in 2026, versus 1.67 in 2009, with no clear direction over that span. Irrigation covers 25 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, with 48 percent of that water drawn from groundwater in 2015. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $20.3 million, with heat and drought the largest cause at 70 percent; that share was 74 percent in 1989-1999, 75 percent in 2000-2009, 50 percent in 2010-2019, and 86 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value stands at $10,421 per acre, up 23.8 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$89/ac
2026 county average
NJ median $84 · 5th highest of 10
Cash rent, irrigated
$164/ac
2026 county average
NJ median $160 · 2nd highest of 6
Land and buildings
$10,421/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NJ median $14,983 · lowest of 13
Corn yield, 2008–2016 median
144.8 bu/ac
9 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.25
2016–2025, closed crop years
NJ median $8.47 · 3rd lowest of 12
Farmland rented
40%
2022 census, rented from others
NJ median 32% · 3rd highest of 13

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$57$89 dry$95$164 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$89/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+30.9%nominal, $68 to $89
Irrigated, 2026$164/ac
Pasture, 2025$21/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$10,421/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,895/ac
Census 2017$8,420/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+23.8%+4.4% 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

200820092010201120122013201420152016110.0164.0132.0130.7138.6144.8178.3145.6152.4median 144.8

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

Median, 2008–2016144.8 bu/ac9 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2008: 110.0 bu/ac76% of median

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.052.110.481.00: 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$6.25
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.67claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.61$20.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 18
Worst year2022ratio 2.11
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 70% · excess moisture 17% · price decline (revenue policies) 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504017

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, 2000–202569 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200240 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202527 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.3 °F1991–2020 normal 67.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.86 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202225%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland4,148 ac
Farmed no-till, 202234% of cropland26,568 ac
Cover crops, 202218% of cropland14,242 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202181,233

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,233 ac1.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028136 ac11% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$82/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202520 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20226,125+5.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202240%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Salem County$89$164$10,421—$6.25
New Castle County, DE$102$225 2025$11,212159.8$2.35
Cumberland County$100$159$11,056—$7.13
Gloucester County$108$112$14,091—$9.29
Median next door$102$136 2 co.$11,212159.8 1 co.$7.13

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. Salem 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/salem-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.