Farm Census

Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

752 farms381,842 acres in farms$357 million in farm sales

No other county in Nebraska with a published figure has more dry edible beans than Scotts Bluff County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, cattle and calves, makes up 55.1% of farm sales, against 41.6% across Nebraska.

Cattle and calves: 55.1%Cattle and calves55.1%Grains and oilseeds: 30.5%Grains and oilseeds30.5%Hay and other crops: 7.9%7.9%Hogs and pigs: 5.1%Hogs and pigs5.1%Horses and mules: 0.6%0.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.4%0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 55.1%Cattle and calves55.1%Grains and oilseeds: 30.5%Grains and oilseeds30.5%Hay and other crops: 7.9%7.9%Hogs and pigs: 5.1%5.1%Horses and mules: 0.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Vegetables and melons: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: poultry and eggs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$197 million13th of 82
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$109 million52nd of 90
Hay and other crops$28.1 million1st of 68
Hogs and pigs$18.3 million20th of 45
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$2.2 million1st of 66
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$1.5 million7th of 22
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$389,00013th of 66
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$135,00012th of 30
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$17,00018th of 24
Other animals and animal products$6,00049th of 52

What the fields held

Scotts Bluff County harvested 173,570 acres of cropland in 2022, 51st of 89 counties in Nebraska. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 48% of that, hay and haylage 22%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain84,1090.10%
Hay and haylage37,5370.07%
Dry edible beans23,8301.9%
Sugar beets12,5761.1%
Wheat5,024under 0.1%
Corn for silage4,3130.07%
Oats5800.06%
Grain sorghum406under 0.1%
Soybeans287under 0.1%
Vegetables20under 0.1%
of which potatoes6under 0.1%
Orchard land3under 0.1%
of which grapes3under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley and sunflower.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms80.7%

Scotts Bluff County ranks 64th of 93 counties in Nebraska on this measure.

  • 216,092 acres of cropland, 57% of farmland
  • 155,901 acres of pastureland, 41% of farmland
  • 2,651 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 151,179 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Scotts Bluff County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 158 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 508 acres, 60th-largest of 87 in Nebraska. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 26.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 12.4% of the total.

1–98%10–4922%50–17927%180–49917%500–99914%1,000–1,9997%2,000+6%
Scotts Bluff County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Cattle and calves83,4790.09%
Hogs and pigs57,8200.08%
Beef cows13,444under 0.1%
Goats1,152under 0.1%
Horses and ponies852under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs1,201under 0.1%
Laying hens1,531under 0.1%
Milk cows16under 0.1%
Turkeys40under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022190under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Scotts Bluff County's 752 farms are made by 1,343 producers. Their average age is 57.3, 0.4 years above the Nebraska average. Women are 34.2% of them.

Under 358%35–4416%45–5418%55–6420%65–7425%75+13%
Scotts Bluff County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms760−1.1%
Land in farms, acres441,624−13.5%
Average farm size, acres581−12.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$323 million+10.7%
Dry edible beans, acres39,789−40.1%
Sugar beets, acres9,773+28.7%
Corn for grain, acres75,659+11.2%
Cattle and calves, head104,216−19.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Scotts Bluff County accounts for 1.2% of farm sales in Nebraska and 1.7% of the farms in Nebraska. Rank Nebraska counties for dry edible beans.

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