Farmland Atlas · county record

Somerset County, Pennsylvania

Somerset County, PA: non-irrigated cash rent $39 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,380 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 134.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 42111. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Land value moved more, up 35.9 percent from 2017 to 2022, 6.3 percent a year, so rent as a share of land value sits at 0.86 percent. Drought weeks stayed low, 19 of 1357 weeks since 2000, all 19 falling in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$39/ac
2026 county average
PA median $68 · 16th lowest of 60
Land and buildings
$4,380/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
PA median $7,064 · 9th lowest of 63
Rent as % of land value
0.86%
$38 dry rent ÷ $4,380 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2009–2025 median
134.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 133.5
PA median 135.7 · 21st lowest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$13.37
2016–2025, closed crop years
PA median $8.42 · 9th highest of 52
Farmland rented
29%
2022 census, rented from others
PA median 30% · 30th lowest of 63

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$25$39 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$39/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+16.7%nominal, $33 to $39
Pasture, 2026$40/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.29$39 ÷ 133.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,380/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,631/ac
Census 2017$3,223/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+35.9%+6.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.86%$38 ÷ $4,380; cropland 61% of land in farms

Corn yield

200920112013201520172019202120232025109.3151.1119.7median 134.1

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

Median, 2009–2025134.1 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025133.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2015: 105.8 bu/ac79% of median
Trend, 2009–2025+0.6 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

202220250.180.512.941.00: 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$13.37
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.08claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.87$11.6 million paid
Worst year2025ratio 2.94
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 55% · excess moisture 31% · other 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250190

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, 2000–202519 of 1,357 weeks1% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202419 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202519 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202659.9 °F1991–2020 normal 58.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.63 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September26.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% 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, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202217% of cropland20,815 ac
Farmed no-till, 202224% of cropland29,235 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland6,279 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202124611,5083,147

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,147 ac2.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,464 ac47% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$92/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202515 MW solar · 387.5 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202234,025−25.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Somerset County$39$4,380134.1$13.37
Allegany County, MD$28$6,375——
Garrett County, MD$45$5,541137.4$12.13
Bedford County$77$5,010137.3$8.32
Cambria County$48$4,911127.0$10.02
Fayette County$33$7,064119.4$19.41
Westmoreland County$71$6,940130.2$13.00
Median next door$46$5,958130.2$12.13

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. Somerset 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/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.