Farm Census

Custer County, Nebraska

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,083 farms1,551,863 acres in farms$994 million in farm sales

No other county in Nebraska with a published figure has more corn for grain, or sells more farm products than Custer County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, cattle and calves, makes up 56.7% of farm sales, against 41.6% across Nebraska.

Cattle and calves: 56.7%Cattle and calves56.7%Grains and oilseeds: 39.0%Grains and oilseeds39.0%Withheld groups: 2.4%2.4%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 56.7%Cattle and calves56.7%Grains and oilseeds: 39.0%Grains and oilseeds39.0%Withheld groups: 2.4%Hay and other crops: 1.9%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: milk, hogs and pigs and horses and mules.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$564 million4th of 82
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$387 million1st of 90
Hay and other crops$18.7 million4th of 68
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$220,00021st of 66
Other animals and animal products$204,00011th of 52
Poultry and eggs$117,00013th of 47
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$82,00017th of 30

What the fields held

Custer County harvested 493,026 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 89 counties in Nebraska. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 51% of that, soybeans 25%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain250,5200.31%
Soybeans122,2890.14%
Hay and haylage101,8740.19%
Corn for silage10,9650.18%
Wheat2,750under 0.1%
Grain sorghum1,794under 0.1%
Oats8430.09%
Vegetables21under 0.1%
of which potatoes15under 0.1%

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms94.1%

Custer County ranks 33rd of 93 counties in Nebraska on this measure.

  • 576,202 acres of cropland, 37% of farmland
  • 961,641 acres of pastureland, 62% of farmland
  • 4,112 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 291,457 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Custer County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 480 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,433 acres, 23rd-largest of 87 in Nebraska. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 20.1% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 32.8% of the total.

1–96%10–499%50–17916%180–49919%500–99917%1,000–1,99913%2,000+20%
Custer County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Cattle and calves290,8550.33%
Horses and ponies1,6560.07%
Goats760under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs766under 0.1%
Laying hens1,342under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows, hogs and pigs, broilers sold and turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Custer County's 1,083 farms are made by 2,013 producers. Their average age is 55.3, 1.6 years below the Nebraska average. Women are 34.1% of them.

Under 3513%35–4417%45–5414%55–6423%65–7423%75+10%
Custer County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,108−2.3%
Land in farms, acres1,505,139+3.1%
Average farm size, acres1,358+5.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$781 million+27.2%
Cattle and calves, head329,990−11.9%
Corn for grain, acres229,451+9.2%
Hay and haylage, acres77,704+31.1%
Corn for silage, acres16,093−31.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Custer County accounts for 3.4% of farm sales in Nebraska and 2.4% of the farms in Nebraska. Rank Nebraska counties for cattle and calves.

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