Farmland Atlas · county record

Antelope County, Nebraska

Antelope County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $173 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,999 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 190.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31003. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Antelope County runs $173 per acre in 2026, up 31.1 percent from 2016. Irrigation covers 70 percent of harvested cropland, drawn 99 percent from groundwater, with 2683 irrigation wells not yet decommissioned and a median static water level of 70 feet.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$173/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 34th highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$320/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · tied for 8th highest of 78
Land and buildings
$5,999/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 31st highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2019 median
190.5 bu/ac
12 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.99
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 11th lowest of 90
Farmland rented
50%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 44th highest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$3502010201520202025$96$173 dry$179$320 irrigated

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$173/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+31.1%nominal, $132 to $173
Irrigated, 2026$320/ac
Pasture, 2026$51/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,999/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,254/ac
Census 2017$4,588/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+30.8%+5.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 70% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019176.0194.9180.5174.6174.9186.1185.9198.6203.0208.7205.7210.1median 190.5

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

Median, 2008–2019190.5 bu/ac12 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2011: 174.6 bu/ac92% of median
Trend, 2008–2019+3.1 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.641.580.681.00: 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$2.99
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.47claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.54$144.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 31
Worst year2014ratio 1.58
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 33% · hail 20% · excess moisture 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025334425

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, 2000–2025223 of 1,357 weeks16% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202244 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025112 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.4 °F1991–2020 normal 62.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.21 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September20.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 92% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202270%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland1,344 ac
Farmed no-till, 202247% of cropland184,067 ac
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland42,469 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,09817,6798,698

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

CRP enrolled, 20258,698 ac2.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,640 ac30% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$119/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)2,683
Median well depth287 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 818.2 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022131,008−5.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202250%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Antelope County$173$320$5,999—$2.99
Boone County$204$295$6,452—$2.79
Holt County$90$274$2,650195.0$4.17
Knox County$217$300$5,161171.3$7.25
Madison County$214$292$7,527182.3$4.71
Pierce County$197$291$7,080179.3$4.59
Wheeler County$88$262$2,116—$5.31
Median next door$201$292$5,807180.8$4.65

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. Antelope County, Nebraska. 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/nebraska/antelope-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.