Farmland Atlas · county record

Pierce County, Nebraska

Pierce County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $197 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,080 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 179.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31139. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Pierce County runs $197 per acre in 2026, up 2.1 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $291 per acre, and the irrigated multiple sits at 1.48 in 2026 against 1.65 in 2008, with no clear direction over that span. Water is present here: 49 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, all of it from groundwater, drawn from 3,021 registered wells at a median depth of 208 feet. The county spent 44 weeks in severe drought or worse in 2022, the worst year in the 2000-2025 record.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$197/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · 25th highest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$291/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · tied for 28th highest of 78
Land and buildings
$7,080/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 20th highest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
179.3 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 195.9 · irrigated and dryland combined
NE median 179.3 · 34th lowest of 67
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.59
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 41st lowest of 90
Farmland rented
58%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 21st highest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$106$197 dry$175$291 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$197/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+2.1%nominal, $193 to $197
Irrigated, 2026$291/ac
Pasture, 2026$75/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,080/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,324/ac
Census 2017$4,872/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+45.3%+7.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 49% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024171.0202.4192.2median 179.3

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

Median, 2008–2024179.3 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2020–2024195.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 139.8 bu/ac78% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+2.0 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.143.300.371.00: 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$4.59
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.64$141.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 30
Worst year2012ratio 3.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 59% · excess moisture 11% · price decline (revenue policies) 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025304417

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, 2000–2025213 of 1,357 weeks16% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202244 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025115 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.6 °F1991–2020 normal 62.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.19 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September20.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 90% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202249%
Drained by tile, 20225% of cropland9,896 ac
Farmed no-till, 202261% of cropland128,741 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland16,463 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202170917,6156,877

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

CRP enrolled, 20256,877 ac3.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,605 ac38% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$166/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)1,421
Median well depth208 ft
Cattle and calves, 202250,120−29.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202258%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Pierce County$197$291$7,080179.3$4.59
Antelope County$173$320$5,999—$2.99
Cedar County$247$352$6,435183.4$4.09
Knox County$217$300$5,161171.3$7.25
Madison County$214$292$7,527182.3$4.71
Wayne County$269$331$7,558186.6$6.58
Median next door$217$320$6,435182.9$4.71

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. Pierce 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/pierce-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.