What percentage of NE is cornfields? (Valley: statistics, farm, land)

[Tiger Beer]

No scientific data required...but just general feel of it?

Nebraska Cornhuskers...I'd imagine most of the east...but then the terrain changes into something else altogether.

Also, I think of Iowa as having a lot of cornfields.

I associate Kansas...with maybe wheat or something? And South Dakota, I don't really associate it with anything but Great Plains Indians...for whatever reason.

How about for you all?

[iamjacobm]

I remember hearing Iowa produces the most corn in the country.

There is obviously tons of corn fields in Nebraska, but under the crop rotation technique fields are corn as often as every other year to as little as every 4th year(corn is terrible for the soil).

Don't take this number as gospel, but from some raw numbers I could find Nebraska is roughly 50 million acres and 5 million of those are not farmland. So 90% farm land roughly?

[SCentralNEGuy]

Originally Posted by iamjacobm

I remember hearing Iowa produces the most corn in the country.

There is obviously tons of corn fields in Nebraska, but under the crop rotation technique fields are corn as often as every other year to as little as every 4th year(corn is terrible for the soil).

Don't take this number as gospel, but from some raw numbers I could find Nebraska is roughly 50 million acres and 5 million of those are not farmland. So 90% farm land roughly?

A lot of Nebraska is Sand Hills/cattle country. Corn is not really grown there. I will see if I can find some ag statistics later I'm sure they'd have something for Nebraska from the USDA or the UNL Extension Office. Get away from the Platte River Valley and Eastern NE and a lot of the land is not suitable for corn farming so you are seeing most of the corn farming right along the interstate. Although NE does produce a lot of corn I agree Iowa probably has us beat. Remember the Sandhills covers over 1/4 of our state. The beauty of cattle is that it can be done pretty much almost anywhere so basically everywhere you go in Nebraska you will see cattle if not corn!

[IsThisOneTaken?]

Google Nebraska land use and see the maps from the CALMIT. I tried linking to it but it didn't work... Maybe because it is a PDF map????

[nebugeater]

Per a Univ Of Nebraska report in 2011 9.5 million acres of corn is planted. Up 4% from 2010

UNL CropWatch March 31, 2011: USDA: Nebraska Corn Acres Highest Since 1933; SB Acres Down 2%

As a side note
5.05 million acres of soybeans, 1.5 million acres of winter wheat. Other crops are referenaced in the report too.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by nebugeater

Per a Univ Of Nebraska report in 2011 9.5 million acres of corn is planted. Up 4% from 2010

UNL CropWatch March 31, 2011: USDA: Nebraska Corn Acres Highest Since 1933; SB Acres Down 2%

As a side note
5.05 million acres of soybeans, 1.5 million acres of winter wheat. Other crops are referenaced in the report too.

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One source I found says that there are 77,353 square miles in Nebraska. One square miles is 640 acres. So the total acreage of Nebraska is around 49.505.620 acres.
So around 20% of the total acreage isplanted to corn.

GL2

[JustMe_T3K]

Originally Posted by Gunluvver2

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One source I found says that there are 77,353 square miles in Nebraska. One square miles is 640 acres. So the total acreage of Nebraska is around 49.505.620 acres.
So around 20% of the total acreage isplanted to corn.

GL2

I was guessing in my head about 25% LOL.

Side note

I picked up a PC to repair today and the mouse cursor is an ear of corn.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by JustMe_T3K

I was guessing in my head about 25% LOL.

Side note

I picked up a PC to repair today and the mouse cursor is an ear of corn.

******************************************
T3K
I just guessed about 20%. You might be closer with your 25% guess. My Math skills suck until I have had eight hours sleep OR my first cup of coffee in the morning. I was sleepy when I guessed 20% and I still haven't had my first caffeine fix to start the day.

GL2

[GraniteStater]

If you take those massively wasteful ethanol subsidies away the percentage would be much lower. Dryland ag is much more sustainable anyway.

[Wyomama2]

The farmers rotate in soybeans and milo here and there about every 5 years or so to replenish the soil, the frequency depending upon the quality of the soil they're working with. If they spray anhydrous they can go longer with just corn.