Farmland Atlas · county record

Cedar County, Nebraska

Cedar County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $247 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,435 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 183.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31027. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cedar County averages $247 per acre in 2026, up 2.1 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent is $352 per acre, a multiple of 1.43 over non-irrigated in 2026, close to the 1.47 multiple of 2008, with no clear direction in between. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities across 1989-2025, at 73 percent of $188.0 million paid, and its share has climbed from 15 percent in 1989-1999 to 64 percent in 2000-2009 to 77 percent in 2010-2019 and 77 percent in 2020-2025. The county spent 215 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, with 107 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025 alone. Land value per the 2022 census sits at $6,435 per acre, up 24.2 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$247/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 11th highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$352/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · highest of 78
Land and buildings
$6,435/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 29th highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
183.4 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 193.0 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 26th highest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.09
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 31st lowest of 90
Farmland rented
52%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 41st highest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$350$4002010201520202025$126$247 dry$185$352 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$247/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+2.1%nominal, $242 to $247
Irrigated, 2026$352/ac
Pasture, 2026$76/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,435/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,408/ac
Census 2017$5,182/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+24.2%+4.4% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 46% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024159.0223.8median 183.4

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

Median, 2008–2025183.4 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025193.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 99.1 bu/ac54% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.7 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.056.430.171.00: 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$4.09
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.53claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.69$188.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 30
Worst year2012ratio 6.43
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 73% · hail 9% · price decline (revenue policies) 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025244011

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, 2000–2025215 of 1,357 weeks16% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202240 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025107 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.4 °F1991–2020 normal 62.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.12 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202246%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland18,927 ac
Farmed no-till, 202250% of cropland188,863 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland7,825 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202133724,89211,733

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

CRP enrolled, 202511,733 ac3.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20285,451 ac47% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$226/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)1,573
Median well depth150 ft
Cattle and calves, 202299,336−4.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202252%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cedar County$247$352$6,435183.4$4.09
Dixon County$256$343$5,376—$3.83
Knox County$217$300$5,161171.3$7.25
Pierce County$197$291$7,080179.3$4.59
Wayne County$269$331$7,558186.6$6.58
Clay County, SD$241$303$7,445175.6$11.38
Yankton County, SD$194$315$5,549169.8$13.89
Median next door$229$309$6,315175.6$6.92

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. Cedar 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/cedar-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.