Farmland Atlas · county record

Cherry County, Nebraska

Cherry County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $36 an acre (2022); land and buildings $1,224 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 180.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31031. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cherry County is $36 per acre in 2022, up 75.6 percent from 2012. Irrigated cash rent for 2026 is $176 per acre. Only 18 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, and 93 percent of that irrigation water comes from groundwater, drawn from 5,768 registered wells with a median depth of 300 feet. Census land value sits at $1,224 per acre, up 31.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 5.6 percent a year. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has moved from 1 percent in 1989-1999, to 12 percent in 2000-2009, to 19 percent in 2010-2019, to 24 percent in 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$36/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$176/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · 6th lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$1,224/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 6th lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2021 median
180.5 bu/ac
11 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.98
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 33rd highest of 90
Farmland rented
25%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 3rd lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$21$36 dry$135$176 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, 2022$36/ac
Change 2012 to 2022+75.6%nominal, $21 to $36
Irrigated, 2026$176/ac
Pasture, 2026$18/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,224/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$531/ac
Census 2017$933/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+31.2%+5.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 18% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021190.0180.5164.3155.2177.8172.3174.9183.8194.1207.6181.2median 180.5

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

Median, 2008–2021180.5 bu/ac11 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2011: 155.2 bu/ac86% of median
Trend, 2008–2021+1.5 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820230.651.740.981.00: 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$5.98
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.58claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.71$27.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 18
Worst year2010ratio 1.74
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025hail 49% · heat and drought 18% · excess moisture 15%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202504112

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, 2000–2025254 of 1,357 weeks19% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201341 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202552 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.5 °F1991–2020 normal 59.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.36 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September17.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger8.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202218%
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland28,769 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland6,790 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,76447,462

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

CRP enrolled, 202547,462 ac11.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20286 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$13/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)727
Median well depth300 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 1.9 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022337,095+18.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202225%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cherry County—$176$1,224—$5.98
Blaine County$39 2023$187 2025$1,317—$6.14
Brown County$62 2025$186$1,674198.6$3.69
Grant County——$1,129——
Hooker County——$1,028——
Keya Paha County$43$193$1,790177.3$4.68
Sheridan County$36$162$1,394151.4$8.72
Thomas County——$1,065——
Bennett County, SD$32—$1,347—$14.26
Oglala Lakota County, SD$34 2024—$871—$27.55
Todd County, SD$45—$1,168—$12.49
Tripp County, SD$71—$2,124106.7$14.28
Median next door$43$186$1,317164.4$10.61

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. Cherry 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/cherry-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.