Butler County, Nebraska
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
718 farms359,127 acres in farms$635 million in farm sales
No other county in Nebraska with a published figure has more laying hens or broilers sold than Butler County.
Measured in current dollars, its farm sales had the third-largest rise from 2017 to 2022 among the 1,136 counties that sold at least $100 million in 2017.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $254 million | 20th of 90 |
| Poultry and eggs | $213 million | 1st of 47 |
| Cattle and calves | $78.2 million | 39th of 82 |
| Hay and other crops | $2.7 million | 30th of 68 |
| Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk | $193,000 | 23rd of 66 |
| Fruit, tree nuts and berries | $45,000 | 11th of 24 |
| Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops | $29,000 | 18th of 22 |
| Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys | $27,000 | 59th of 66 |
What the fields held
Butler County harvested 296,811 acres of cropland in 2022, 18th of 89 counties in Nebraska. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 52% of that, soybeans 41%.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Corn for grain | 153,414 | 0.19% |
| Soybeans | 123,068 | 0.15% |
| Hay and haylage | 11,694 | under 0.1% |
| Corn for silage | 6,630 | 0.11% |
| Wheat | 923 | under 0.1% |
| Grain sorghum | 598 | under 0.1% |
| Oats | 35 | under 0.1% |
| Vegetables | 27 | under 0.1% |
| Orchard land | 6 | under 0.1% |
| Berries | 2 | under 0.1% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: barley, potatoes, apples and grapes.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms95.9%
Butler County ranks 27th of 93 counties in Nebraska on this measure.
- 315,127 acres of cropland, 88% of farmland
- 31,251 acres of pastureland, 9% of farmland
- 4,245 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
- 128,189 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
Farms in Butler County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 182 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 500 acres, 61st-largest of 87 in Nebraska. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 24.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 14.1% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Broilers sold in 2022 | 31,469,510 | 0.34% |
| Laying hens | 543,468 | 0.14% |
| Hogs and pigs | 59,663 | 0.08% |
| Cattle and calves | 48,777 | 0.06% |
| Goats | 507 | under 0.1% |
| Sheep and lambs | 858 | under 0.1% |
| Horses and ponies | 225 | under 0.1% |
Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.
Who farms here
Decisions on Butler County's 718 farms are made by 1,272 producers. Their average age is 56.7, 0.2 years below the Nebraska average. Women are 30.9% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 723 | −0.7% |
| Land in farms, acres | 374,138 | −4.0% |
| Average farm size, acres | 517 | −3.3% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $260 million | +100% |
| Corn for grain, acres | 150,447 | +2.0% |
| Soybeans, acres | 131,661 | −6.5% |
| Corn for silage, acres | 2,723 | +100% |
| Hogs and pigs, head | 62,686 | −4.8% |
Nearest rivals
- Broilers sold between Barbour County, AL and Saluda County, SC
- Corn for grain between Linn County, IA and Tazewell County, IL
- Soybeans between East Carroll Parish, LA and DeKalb County, IL
- Laying hens between Bradley County, AR and Polk County, MO
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Johnson County, Missouri largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Breckinridge County, Kentucky largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Lawrence County, Tennessee largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 98%
Butler County accounts for 2.2% of farm sales in Nebraska and 1.6% of the farms in Nebraska. Rank Nebraska counties for broilers sold.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.