Farmland Atlas · county record

Keya Paha County, Nebraska

Keya Paha County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $43 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,790 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 177.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31103. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Keya Paha County runs $43 per acre in 2026, down 8.5 percent from 2016. Land value stood at $1,790 per acre in 2022, up 26.4 percent from 2017. July nightly lows show no clear trend since 1976, and irrigation depends on groundwater for 90 percent of supply as of 2015.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$43/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 8th lowest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$193/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · 15th lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$1,790/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 21st lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
177.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 192.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 32nd lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.68
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 43rd lowest of 90
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 9th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$20$43 dry$179$193 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$43/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−8.5%nominal, $47 to $43
Irrigated, 2026$193/ac
Pasture, 2026$40/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,790/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$775/ac
Census 2017$1,416/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+26.4%+4.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 50% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024152.0224.2median 177.3

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

Median, 2008–2025177.3 bu/ac17 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025192.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 152.0 bu/ac86% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.3 bu/ac a year±1.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820230.491.830.681.00: 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$4.68
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.53claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.58$18.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium1 of 15
Worst year2014ratio 1.83
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 33% · hail 28% · excess moisture 19%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202503413

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, 2000–2025237 of 1,357 weeks18% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200334 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202571 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.6 °F1991–2020 normal 61.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.15 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September18.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.2 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202219% of cropland20,313 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland4,671 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021021,605

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

CRP enrolled, 202521,605 ac22.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$20/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)392
Median well depth220 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 3 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202244,184−18.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Keya Paha County$43$193$1,790177.3$4.68
Boyd County$126—$2,664—$10.91
Brown County$62 2025$186$1,674198.6$3.69
Cherry County—$176$1,224—$5.98
Rock County$48$193 2025$1,482—$4.64
Gregory County, SD$73—$2,050—$9.31
Tripp County, SD$71—$2,124106.7$14.28
Median next door$72$181 2 co.$1,862152.7 2 co.$7.65

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. Keya Paha 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/keya-paha-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.