Farmland Atlas · county record

Wheeler County, Nebraska

Wheeler County, NE: non-irrigated cash rent $88 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,116 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 185.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 31183. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Wheeler County runs $88 per acre in 2026, down 11.6 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent is $262 per acre, and that gap has moved without a clear direction, from 3.80 in 2013 to 2.99 in 2026. Median corn yield 2008-2024 is 185.2 bushels per acre, with the worst year, 2008, at 151. Crop insurance indemnities for 1989-2025 total $40.4 million, led by excess moisture and flood at 43 percent, while heat and drought's share has moved from 7 percent in 1989-1999 to 12 percent in 2000-2009, 11 percent in 2010-2019, and 16 percent in 2020-2025. Census land value sits at $2,116 per acre, up 38.5 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$88/ac
2026 county average
NE median $141 · tied for 22nd lowest of 80
Cash rent, irrigated
$262/ac
2026 county average
NE median $272 · 30th lowest of 78
Land and buildings
$2,116/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NE median $4,499 · 25th lowest of 93
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
185.2 bu/ac
8 published years · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$5.31
2016–2025, closed crop years
NE median $4.74 · 37th highest of 90
Farmland rented
29%
2022 census, rented from others
NE median 49% · 6th lowest of 93

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$46$88 dry$228$262 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$88/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−11.6%nominal, $99 to $88
Irrigated, 2026$262/ac
Pasture, 2026$37/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,116/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,225/ac
Census 2017$1,528/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+38.5%+6.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 30% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024151.0170.5152.7172.9197.6215.8225.8226.1median 185.2

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

Median, 2008–2024185.2 bu/ac8 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2008: 151.0 bu/ac82% of median

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.391.590.951.00: 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$5.31
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.62claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.65$40.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 23
Worst year2008ratio 1.59
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 43% · hail 26% · heat and drought 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025333922

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, 2000–2025253 of 1,357 weeks19% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201339 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202598 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.6 °F1991–2020 normal 61.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.22 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September20.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202230%
Farmed no-till, 202220% of cropland19,769 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland5,523 ac
198619911996200120062011201620212,90716,37313,138

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

CRP enrolled, 202513,138 ac13.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028138 ac1% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$43/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells in use (Nebraska register)650
Median well depth260 ft
Cattle and calves, 2022100,403−23.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202229%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Wheeler County$88$262$2,116—$5.31
Antelope County$173$320$5,999—$2.99
Boone County$204$295$6,452—$2.79
Garfield County$90$233 2025$1,660184.8$6.83
Greeley County$145$267$4,034185.4$3.48
Holt County$90$274$2,650195.0$4.17
Valley County$132$302$3,037182.3$4.58
Median next door$139$295$3,536185.1$3.83

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. Wheeler 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/wheeler-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.