Farmland Atlas · county record

Holt County, Nebraska

Holt County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $90 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,650 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 195.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31089. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Registered wells number 7057, with 3566 irrigation wells not decommissioned, median depth 221 feet, median static water level 34 feet. Land sold at $2,650 per acre in 2022, up 11.3 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$90/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · tied for 24th lowest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$274/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · tied for 36th highest of 78
Land and buildings
$2,650/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 35th lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
195.0 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 208.2 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 11th highest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.17
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 33rd lowest of 90
Farmland rented
42%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 28th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$63$90 dry$161$274 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$90/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+51.7%nominal, $59 to $90
Irrigated, 2026$274/ac
Pasture, 2026$47/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,650/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,093/ac
Census 2017$2,380/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+11.3%+2.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 53% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022184.0223.7median 195.0

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

Median, 2008–2023195.0 bu/ac15 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2019–2023208.2 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 158.5 bu/ac81% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+3.0 bu/ac a year±1.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020251.181.630.231.00: 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$4.17
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.61claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.63$166.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 31
Worst year2014ratio 1.63
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 36% · hail 26% · heat and drought 23%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025234424

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, 2000–2025264 of 1,357 weeks20% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202244 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025110 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.0 °F1991–2020 normal 61.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.12 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September19.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger4.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202253%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland2,882 ac
Farmed no-till, 202222% of cropland141,310 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland53,666 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,287140,607

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

CRP enrolled, 2025140,607 ac19.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028628 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$30/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)3,566
Median well depth221 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 400 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022190,677−13.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202242%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Holt County$90$274$2,650195.0$4.17
Antelope County$173$320$5,999—$2.99
Boyd County$126—$2,664—$10.91
Garfield County$90$233 2025$1,660184.8$6.83
Knox County$217$300$5,161171.3$7.25
Loup County$110$216$1,567—$4.47
Rock County$48$193 2025$1,482—$4.64
Wheeler County$88$262$2,116—$5.31
Median next door$110$281$2,116178.1 2 co.$5.31

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. Holt 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/holt-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.