Farm Census

Cherry County, Nebraska

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

610 farms3,795,779 acres in farms$271 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Cherry County leads the country in beef cows, ranks second for hay and haylage and fourth for land in farms.

Its largest product group with a published figure, cattle and calves, makes up 75.4% of farm sales, against 41.6% across Nebraska.

Cattle and calves: 75.4%Cattle and calves75.4%Grains and oilseeds: 14.7%Grains and oilseeds14.7%Withheld groups: 7.1%Withheld groups7.1%Other animals: 2.7%2.7%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 75.4%Cattle and calves75.4%Grains and oilseeds: 14.7%Grains and oilseeds14.7%Withheld groups: 7.1%7.1%Other animals: 2.7%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, hay and other crops, poultry and eggs, horses and mules and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$204 million12th of 82
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$39.7 million72nd of 90
Other animals and animal products$7.4 million1st of 52
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$27,00059th of 66
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$22,00016th of 24
Hogs and pigs$9,00044th of 45

What the fields held

Cherry County harvested 355,077 acres of cropland in 2022, eighth of 89 counties in Nebraska. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 87% of that, corn for grain 7%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage310,6020.57%
Corn for grain25,721under 0.1%
Soybeans8,855under 0.1%
Wheat2,162under 0.1%
Corn for silage1,598under 0.1%
Grain sorghum260under 0.1%
Orchard land26under 0.1%
of which grapes26under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley, oats, sunflower, dry edible beans, potatoes and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.5%

Cherry County ranks 13th of 93 counties in Nebraska on this measure.

  • 435,881 acres of cropland, 11% of farmland
  • 3,344,270 acres of pastureland, 88% of farmland
  • 12,541 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 64,576 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Cherry County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 2,300 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 6,223 acres, first-largest of 87 in Nebraska. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 52.1% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 64.1% of the total.

1–95%10–495%50–1799%180–4997%500–99910%1,000–1,99912%2,000+52%
Cherry County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows184,6880.63%
Cattle and calves337,0950.38%
Horses and ponies2,1360.09%
Goats101under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs125under 0.1%
Milk cows28under 0.1%
Laying hens539under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs26under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Cherry County's 610 farms are made by 1,175 producers. Their average age is 57.4, 0.5 years above the Nebraska average. Women are 35.7% of them.

Under 359%35–4414%45–5419%55–6420%65–7427%75+11%
Cherry County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms567+7.6%
Land in farms, acres3,562,961+6.5%
Average farm size, acres6,284−1.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$231 million+17.3%
Hay and haylage, acres289,270+7.4%
Cattle and calves, head284,602+18.4%
Horses and ponies, head2,470−13.5%
Corn for grain, acres24,821+3.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Cherry County accounts for 0.9% of farm sales in Nebraska and 1.4% of the farms in Nebraska. Rank Nebraska counties for beef cows.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.