Farmland Atlas · county record

Somerset County, New Jersey

Somerset County, NJ: non-irrigated cash rent $35 an acre (2026); land and buildings $21,660 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 34035. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Land value rose 9.5 percent from 2017-2022. July nights average 66 F for 2017-2026, up from a 1991-2020 normal of 63.9 F, and the county reached this level first in the 2020s. Only 5 percent of harvested cropland was irrigated in the 2022 census.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$35/ac
2026 county average
NJ median $84 · lowest of 10
Land and buildings
$21,660/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NJ median $14,983 · 5th highest of 13
Rent as % of land value
0.18%
$38 dry rent ÷ $21,660 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$13.39
2016–2025, closed crop years
NJ median $8.47 · highest of 12
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
NJ median 32% · 7th lowest of 13

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$34$35 dry

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$35/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$21,660/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$20,497/ac
Census 2017$19,776/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+9.5%+1.8% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.18%$38 ÷ $21,660; cropland 58% of land in farms

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$13.39
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.27claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.45$3.8 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 69% · excess moisture 17% · other 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250233

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, 2000–202552 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200223 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202515 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.0 °F1991–2020 normal 63.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+1.03 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 103% 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, 20225%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland154 ac
Farmed no-till, 202213% of cropland2,314 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland1,058 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210212123

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

CRP enrolled, 2025123 ac0.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$69/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202555.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20221,556−4.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Somerset County$35—$21,660$13.39
Hunterdon County$66—$17,886$10.14
Mercer County$55$297 2024$26,811$9.12
Middlesex County$71—$26,828$5.84
Morris County—$130 2024$30,022$3.82
Union County——$105,823—
Median next door$66—$26,828$7.48

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. Somerset 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/somerset-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.