Farmland Atlas · county record

Cheyenne County, Colorado

Cheyenne County, CO: non-irrigated cash rent $32 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,281 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 91.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 08017. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here is $32 per acre, unchanged from 2016 to 2026, 0 percent. Heat and drought is the largest cause of indemnities over 1989-2025 at 68 percent of $294.8 million, and its share rose from 22 percent in 1989-1999 to 78 percent in 2000-2009, then ran 62 percent in 2010-2019 and 72 percent in 2020-2025. Irrigation covers 6 percent of harvested cropland, all from groundwater, and irrigation-failure indemnities are small at $182,663. Wind operating capacity is 498.4 MW, with 438 MW more proposed to EIA; solar operating and proposed are both 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$32/ac
2026 county average
CO median $30 · 10th highest of 24
Cash rent, irrigated
$170/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,281/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CO median $2,765 · 7th lowest of 58
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
91.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 53.3
CO median 120.5 · 2nd lowest of 6
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$23.77
2016–2025, closed crop years
CO median $13.57 · 8th highest of 31
Farmland rented
34%
2022 census, rented from others
CO median 30% · 21st highest of 57

Cash rent

$0$10$20$302010201520202025$19$32 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$32/ac
Change 2016 to 20260.0%nominal, $32 to $32
Irrigated, 2025$170/ac
Pasture, 2026$9/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.60$32 ÷ 53.3 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,281/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$778/ac
Census 2017$838/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+52.9%+8.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.58%$33 ÷ $1,281; cropland 54% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202492.0127.085.5median 91.7

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

Median, 2008–202591.7 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–202553.3 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2022: 37.7 bu/ac41% of median
Trend, 2008–2025−3.1 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.624.260.431.00: 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$23.77
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.94claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.12$294.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium15 of 31
Worst year2002ratio 4.26
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 68% · hail 14% · wind 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250390

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, 2000–2025324 of 1,357 weeks24% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201339 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202550 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.9 °F1991–2020 normal 60.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.06 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September12.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger4.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20226%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202232% of cropland167,782 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202115,245156,156139,842

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

CRP enrolled, 2025139,842 ac33.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028695 ac1% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$25/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 498.4 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202224,274−30.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202234%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cheyenne County$32$170 2025$1,28191.7$23.77
Kiowa County$29—$1,238—$23.93
Kit Carson County$40$170$1,406102.6$16.47
Lincoln County$28—$900—$24.91
Greeley County, KS$49—$1,795—$17.36
Wallace County, KS$53—$1,656—$19.54
Median next door$40$170 1 co.$1,406102.6 1 co.$19.54

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. Cheyenne County, Colorado. 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/colorado/cheyenne-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.