Farmland Atlas · county record

Hitchcock County, Nebraska

Hitchcock County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $60 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,181 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 115.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31087. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated rent is up 15.4 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigation covers 19 percent of harvested cropland, drawing 90 percent of its water from groundwater, with 1373 registered wells and a median static water level of 24.5 feet. The county spent 112 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025. Solar and wind capacity are both 0 MW, operating and proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$60/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 17th lowest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$198/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · 16th lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$2,181/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 26th lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
115.9 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 119.4 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$18.62
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 2nd highest of 90
Farmland rented
37%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 16th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$36$60 dry$116$198 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$60/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+15.4%nominal, $52 to $60
Irrigated, 2026$198/ac
Pasture, 2026$24/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,181/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,290/ac
Census 2017$1,574/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+38.6%+6.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 19% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024103.0144.0129.2median 115.9

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

Median, 2008–2024115.9 bu/ac14 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2020–2024119.4 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 72.4 bu/ac63% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.2 bu/ac a year±2.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.834.100.271.00: 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$18.62
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.19claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.18$180.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 30
Worst year2022ratio 4.10
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 66% · hail 18% · freeze 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202519530

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, 2000–2025420 of 1,357 weeks31% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201353 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025112 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.8 °F1991–2020 normal 62.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.14 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September16.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 95% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202219%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland202 ac
Farmed no-till, 202266% of cropland134,041 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland1,340 ac
198619911996200120062011201620214420,496

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

CRP enrolled, 202520,496 ac20.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,893 ac9% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$60/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)576
Median well depth76 ft
Cattle and calves, 202220,565−4.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202237%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Hitchcock County$60$198$2,181—$18.62
Rawlins County, KS$67$160 2025$1,81096.1$20.06
Dundy County$51$237$1,991153.5$10.06
Frontier County$68$211$2,370136.0$9.24
Hayes County$62$230$2,196147.7$10.80
Red Willow County$67$214$2,366141.8$13.43
Median next door$67$222$2,196141.8$10.80

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. Hitchcock 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/hitchcock-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.