Farmland Atlas · county record

Berks County, Pennsylvania

Berks County, PA: non-irrigated cash rent $155 an acre (2026); land and buildings $13,449 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 162.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 42011. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here is $155 per acre in 2026, up 36 percent from 2016. Land and buildings were valued at $13,449 per acre in 2022, up 20 percent from 2017. July nightly lows have moved from 63.6 F to 65.7 F, and irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$155/ac
2026 county average
PA median $68 · 6th highest of 60
Land and buildings
$13,449/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
PA median $7,064 · 5th highest of 63
Rent as % of land value
0.68%
$92 dry rent ÷ $13,449 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
162.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 161.4
PA median 135.7 · 4th highest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.07
2016–2025, closed crop years
PA median $8.42 · tied for 11th lowest of 52
Farmland rented
34%
2022 census, rented from others
PA median 30% · 23rd highest of 63

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$69$155 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$155/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+36.0%nominal, $114 to $155
Pasture, 2026$87/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.96$155 ÷ 161.4 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$13,449/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,859/ac
Census 2017$11,209/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+20.0%+3.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.68%$92 ÷ $13,449; cropland 78% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024133.0177.4median 162.3

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

Median, 2008–2025162.3 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025161.4 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 92.8 bu/ac57% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.8 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200220072012201720224.300.501.00: 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$6.07
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.61$34.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 24
Worst year2002ratio 4.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 68% · freeze 11% · hail 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202502119

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, 2000–202550 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200221 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202529 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.7 °F1991–2020 normal 63.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.91 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland4,313 ac
Farmed no-till, 202249% of cropland80,316 ac
Cover crops, 202224% of cropland39,558 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021185,5001,591

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,591 ac1.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028206 ac13% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$303/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202524.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202262,607−26.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202234%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Berks County$155—$13,449162.3$6.07
Chester County$199$269$13,004172.8$1.89
Lancaster County$289$523$21,633179.8$2.98
Lebanon County$206—$16,709173.0$3.28
Lehigh County$121—$9,925152.5$6.07
Montgomery County$69—$21,260—$8.29
Schuylkill County$82—$8,075128.7$7.98
Median next door$160$396 2 co.$14,857172.8$4.68

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. Berks County, Pennsylvania. 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/pennsylvania/berks-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.