Farmland Atlas · county record

Box Butte County, Nebraska

Box Butte County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $38 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,034 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 150.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31013. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet
Cash rent, non-irrigated
$38/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 6th lowest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$203/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · 17th lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$2,034/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 24th lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
150.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 154.9 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 7th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 18th highest of 90
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 20th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$41$38 dry$135$203 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$38/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+33.3%nominal, $29 to $38
Irrigated, 2026$203/ac
Pasture, 2026$14/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,034/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,068/ac
Census 2017$1,334/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+52.5%+8.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 50% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024140.0168.3133.7median 150.7

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

Median, 2008–2025150.7 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025154.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2025: 133.7 bu/ac89% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+0.2 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

199019952000200520102015202020250.352.570.551.00: 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$8.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.87claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$154.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium10 of 35
Worst year1993ratio 2.57
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025hail 57% · freeze 14% · heat and drought 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202505222

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, 2000–2025451 of 1,357 weeks33% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200452 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025116 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.3 °F1991–2020 normal 57.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.25 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September13.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger4.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202250%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202231% of cropland126,013 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland11,070 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021519176,750

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

CRP enrolled, 2025176,750 ac40.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20286,466 ac4% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$16/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)1,345
Median well depth333 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20258.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202254,930+1.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Box Butte County$38$203$2,034150.7$8.52
Dawes County$35$170$1,397—$20.30
Morrill County$40 2025$178$1,682165.1$5.82
Scotts Bluff County$42 2024$180$2,573161.6$7.29
Sheridan County$36$162$1,394151.4$8.72
Sioux County$24$144$1,283168.7$5.68
Median next door$35$170$1,397163.4$7.29

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. Box Butte 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/box-butte-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.

← Boone CountyAll Nebraska countiesBoyd County →