AgricultureID

State · US-NE

Nebraska

Nebraska grades from hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) in the east to cold semi-arid steppe (BSk) across the west, with hot summers statewide and rainfall declining sharply westward. This west-to-east moisture gradient defines its farming systems.

Major crop systems

  • Irrigated and rainfed maize
  • Soybean
  • Winter wheat, grain sorghum, and alfalfa/hay, with sugar beet in the western Panhandle

Major livestock systems

  • Beef cattle feedlot finishing
  • Cow–calf ranching on the Sandhills and western rangeland
  • Confined hogs

Agricultural land: Cropland dominates the wetter east and the irrigated Platte valley, while the sandy Sandhills and western High Plains are extensive rangeland; the state overlies a large part of the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer. Irrigation: Nebraska is among the most heavily irrigated states, relying on center-pivot groundwater pumping from the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer, supplemented by Platte and Republican river surface water.

Agroecological zones: Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental), BSk (Cold semi-arid (steppe))

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Nebraska Department of Agriculture — State department for agriculture, animal and plant health, and marketing.
  • Nebraska Extension (University of Nebraska–Lincoln) — Land-grant research and extension through the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Nebraska are published by USDA NASS and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • Groundwater irrigation from the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer is central to western production but is subject to long-term drawdown concerns that a snapshot profile does not capture.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

  • Nebraska Department of Agriculture

    State · Department

    Nebraska Department of Agriculture is the first-order subnational public authority responsible for agriculture in Nebraska.

    Official websiteAll agricultural authorities

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 417 named soil bodies in Nebraska, with surface pH from 5.0 to 9.2 and organic matter from 0.0% to 85.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Nebraska, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
ValentineEntisols5.7–7.20.25–1.52–6Excessively drained422in 46 survey areas
UlyInceptisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.6–7.61.5–322–30Somewhat poorly drained to Well drained242in 38 survey areas
ColyEntisols7.3–7.91.5–221–23Excessively drained to Well drained239in 33 survey areas
HoldregeMollisols6.2–6.81.3–313–32Well drained199in 27 survey areas
HobbsEntisols6.9–72.5–314–26Well drained188in 51 survey areas
NoraMollisols5.8–7.32.5–313–31Well drained151in 20 survey areas
CroftonEntisols7.7–81–223.5–25Excessively drained to Well drained145in 20 survey areas
HordMollisols6.5–7.52–314–31Somewhat poorly drained to Well drained128in 40 survey areas
ThurmanEntisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)5.6–6.70.75–33–13Excessively drained to Somewhat excessively drained119in 26 survey areas
InavaleEntisols5.6–7.50.4–0.93–14Excessively drained to Somewhat excessively drained116in 37 survey areas
TasselEntisols7–80.5–35–10Somewhat excessively drained to Well drained98in 16 survey areas
MoodyMollisols6.3–6.61.25–3.2520–32Well drained97in 19 survey areas
IpageEntisols5.2–7.50.75–1.52–6.5Moderately well drained93in 30 survey areas
ElsEntisols6–7.90.75–23–9Somewhat poorly drained89in 28 survey areas
ValentEntisols6.6–7.20.65–0.93–9Excessively drained88in 17 survey areas
AnselmoMollisols6.4–6.71.57–19Well drained83in 20 survey areas
HastingsAlfisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)5.8–6.11.5–320–34Well drained81in 15 survey areas
BusherMollisols71.5–2.59–12Well drained80in 10 survey areas
CozadMollisols5.6–8.21–314–29Moderately well drained to Well drained78in 24 survey areas
DundayMollisols5.6–6.71.5–25–11Excessively drained to Somewhat excessively drained78in 28 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

67.4% of Nebraska’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
17.3%
D0 · not drought
15.3%
D1
21.9%
D2
32.9%
D3
11.0%
D4
1.6%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

51 stations in Nebraska publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
AINSWORTH, NE US50.2°F23.81 in143.7
ANSELMO 2 WSW, NE US47.5°F25.07 in174.5
ARTHUR, NE US48.8°F20.60 in168.9
ASHLAND #2, NE US50.8°F32.29 in144.5
AUBURN 5 ESE, NE US52.4°F32.31 in135.2
BEAVER CITY, NE US51.8°F24.58 in161.0
BENKELMAN 1N, NE US52.3°F19.66 in159.7
BROKEN BOW 2 W, NE US48.0°F23.04 in176.8

Eight of 51 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12