Farmland Atlas · county record

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Schuylkill County, PA: non-irrigated cash rent $82 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,075 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 128.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 42107. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $82 per acre, up 59.8 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land carries a census value of $8,075 per acre, up 21.5 percent from 2017 to 2022, 4 percent a year. Corn yields hold a median of 128.7 bushels per acre over 2008-2025, with a trend of 0.3 bushels per acre a year and a worst year of 78 in 2011. July nights average 63.4 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 61.4 F, and the long trend since 1976 runs 0.84 F per decade, warming. Heat and drought drove 87 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999, 66 percent in 2000-2009, 48 percent in 2010-2019, and 81 percent in 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$82/ac
2026 county average
PA median $68 · 23rd highest of 60
Cash rent, irrigated
$89/ac
2012 county average
too few 2012 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$8,075/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
PA median $7,064 · 25th highest of 63
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
128.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 122.5
PA median 135.7 · 13th lowest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.98
2016–2025, closed crop years
PA median $8.42 · 19th lowest of 52
Farmland rented
38%
2022 census, rented from others
PA median 30% · 11th highest of 63

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$47$82 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$82/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+59.8%nominal, $51 to $82
Irrigated, 2012$89/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.67$82 ÷ 122.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,075/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,436/ac
Census 2017$6,645/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+21.5%+4.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.49%$40 ÷ $8,075; cropland 75% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024123.0162.3113.7median 128.7

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

Median, 2008–2025128.7 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025122.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2011: 78.0 bu/ac61% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+0.3 bu/ac a year±2.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.432.361.291.00: 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$7.98
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.79claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.74$23.3 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 19
Worst year2022ratio 2.36
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 69% · excess moisture 13% · freeze 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025018

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, 2000–202536 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202518 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202527 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.4 °F1991–2020 normal 61.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.84 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20222%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland1,334 ac
Farmed no-till, 202246% of cropland35,831 ac
Cover crops, 202212% of cropland9,345 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021498,0781,918

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,918 ac2.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028758 ac40% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$198/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20251 MW solar · 128 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20229,379−28.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202238%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Schuylkill County$82—$8,075128.7$7.98
Berks County$155—$13,449162.3$6.07
Carbon County$60—$8,381—$24.77
Columbia County$78—$7,413133.1$8.33
Dauphin County$88$70 2024$10,895130.9$4.60
Lebanon County$206—$16,709173.0$3.28
Lehigh County$121—$9,925152.5$6.07
Luzerne County$66—$5,786123.8$10.64
Northumberland County$111—$8,292140.4$8.33
Median next door$99—$9,153140.4$7.20

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. Schuylkill 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/schuylkill-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.