By the Numbers: Nebraska Wheat Production

By the Numbers: Nebraska Wheat Production

Winter wheat represents Nebraska's third largest crop after corn and soybean and a keystone in Nebraska's agricultural economy. At an average price of $3.14 per bushel, USDA estimated the value of Nebraska's 2016 wheat harvest at $219,294,000.

While some wheat is grown in each USDA reporting district, the vast majority (82%) of the state's winter wheat crop is grown in western Nebraska (Table 1).

USDA NASS Crop Reporting Districts
Table 1. Nebraska winter wheat production by USDA crop reporting district in 2016. (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service)
YearNorthwest District
(Panhandle)
Southwest District
South Central District

Southeast District

Central District

East Central District

North Central District

Northeast District
Acres Harvested
2016
665,000 410,500 129,890 60,720 16,950 11,720 9,220 6,000
Percent of Total Harvest
2016
51% 31% 10% 5% 1% <1% <1% <1%

Table 2. Nebraska Wheat production 2009-2017 (Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service)
YearAll Wheat (bu)Rainfed Production (bu)Irrigated Production (bu)Yield - All Wheat (bu/ac)Yield - Rainfed (bu/ac)Yield - Irrigated Wheat (bu/ac)All Area Planted (acres)All Area Harvested (acres)
2006 61,200,000 46,795,000 14,405,000 36.0 31.5 67.0 1,800,000 1,700,000
2007 84,280,000 67,460,000 16,820,000 43.0 40.4 58.0 2,050,000 1,960,000
2008 73,480,000 60,548,000 12,932,000 41.5 44.0 61.0 1,750,000 1,670,000
2009* 77,280,000 65,824,000 11,456,000 46.0 48.0 64.0 1,700,000 1,610,000
2010 64,070,000 56,872,000 7,198,000 43.0 41.6 59.0 1,600,000 1,490,000
2011 66,600,000 56,130,000 10,470,000 42.2 45.0 69.3 1,550,000 1,480,000
2012 53,300,000 46,500,000 6,800,000 38.9 41.0 65.4 1,370,000 1,300,000
2013 39,900,000 29,400,000 10,500,000 35.0 30.0 65.6 1,470,000 1,140,000
2014 71,050,000 59,608,000 11,442,000 49.0 45.1 81.1 1,550,000 1,450,000
2015 45,980,000 35,716,000 10,264,000 38.0 33.9 65.4 1,490,000 1,210,000
2016 70,740,000 59,904,000 10,836,000 54.0 51.2 77.4 1,370,000 1,310,000
2017 (est) 46,000,000 46.0 1,110,000
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