Buffalo County, Nebraska
Buffalo County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $138 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,857 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 195.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Buffalo County stands at $138 per acre in 2026, up 36.6 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $271 per acre, and the irrigated multiple has moved without clear direction, 2.08 in 2008 and 1.96 in 2026. Irrigation covers 73 percent of harvested cropland, drawing 98 percent of its water from groundwater, and the county carries 8,974 registered wells at a median depth of 212.5 feet. Corn yields have trended up 1.4 bushels per acre a year across 2008-2025, with a median of 195.4 bushels per acre and a low of 165.8 in 2022. Hail, not heat, is the largest driver of the $180.2 million in indemnities paid across 1989-2025, at 43 percent of the total.
NE median $141 · 40th lowest of 80
NE median $272 · tied for 38th lowest of 78
NE median $4,499 · 44th highest of 93
NE median 179.3 · tied for 9th highest of 67
NE median $4.74 · 14th lowest of 90
NE median 49% · 28th highest of 93
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo County | $138 | $271 | $4,857 | 195.4 | $3.21 |
| Adams County | $144 | $307 | $6,544 | 195.9 | $4.12 |
| Custer County | $100 | $240 | $2,892 | 176.6 | $4.00 |
| Dawson County | $128 | $273 | $4,897 | 198.0 | $3.29 |
| Hall County | $130 2025 | $279 | $5,923 | 199.8 | $3.74 |
| Howard County | $132 | $245 | $4,372 | 183.6 | $4.73 |
| Kearney County | $129 | $263 | $7,608 | 202.8 | $3.39 |
| Phelps County | $135 | $313 | $5,776 | 216.9 | $2.86 |
| Sherman County | $134 | $299 | $3,905 | 177.1 | $4.30 |
| Median next door | $132 | $276 | $5,337 | 197.0 | $3.87 |
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. Buffalo 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/buffalo-countyEvery 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.