Farmland Atlas · county record

Niobrara County, Wyoming

Niobrara County, WY: non-irrigated cash rent $14 an acre (2025); land and buildings $791 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 56027. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated cropland here rents for $135 per acre in 2026, against $14 per acre for non-irrigated ground, and irrigation draws 91 percent of its water from groundwater as of 2015. Non-irrigated rent is up 16.7 percent from 2013 to 2025. The heat and drought share of crop insurance indemnities has moved 3 percent, 9 percent, 48 percent, 55 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. July nightly lows have warmed 0.54 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average of 57.5 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.2 F. Census land value rose 26.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 4.8 percent a year.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$14/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Cash rent, irrigated
$135/ac
2026 county average
WY median $78 · 3rd highest of 15
Land and buildings
$791/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WY median $1,248 · 3rd lowest of 22
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.57
2016–2025, closed crop years
WY median $8.14 · 4th lowest of 12
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
WY median 33% · 12th lowest of 23

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$140201520202025$13$14 dry$89$135 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, 2025$14/ac
Change 2013 to 2025+16.7%nominal, $12 to $14
Irrigated, 2026$135/ac
Pasture, 2026$8/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$791/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$536/ac
Census 2017$627/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+26.2%+4.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

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$3.57
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.39$8.3 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025area plans 69% · heat and drought 16% · hail 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202505222

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, 2000–2025392 of 1,357 weeks29% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200452 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202585 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.5 °F1991–2020 normal 56.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.54 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September11.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger4.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202235%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland2,553 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland426 ac
198619911996200120062011201620211,32251,087

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

CRP enrolled, 202551,087 ac65.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028355 ac1% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$13/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202251,320−13.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Niobrara County$14 2025$135$791—$3.57
Sioux County, NE$24$144$1,283168.7$5.68
Custer County, SD$29—$1,832—$27.30
Fall River County, SD$24—$1,082—$22.49
Converse County——$709——
Goshen County$21 2025$170$1,871—$10.45
Platte County$22 2025$120 2025$1,028—$10.76
Weston County$17 2023—$953—$36.60
Median next door$24$157 2 co.$1,082168.7 1 co.$16.63

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. Niobrara County, Wyoming. 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/wyoming/niobrara-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.