FARMGRANT COUNTY PROFILE · PUBLIC USDA DATA

Custer County, Nebraska

$7.5M in USDA farm subsidies to county recipients (2024)

Opportunity Score: 51/100

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USDA Farm Subsidies — Custer County

$7.5M in USDA farm subsidies to Custer County recipients (2024).

Sum of payments to 956 recipients in this county, EWG Farm Subsidy Database (totalfarm), 2024 single year.

Program Breakdown (selected programs, EWG/USDA 2024)

Disaster Payments $7.0M
Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) $281,685
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) $169,874
Dairy Programs $11,067

Selected program components shown individually. These are separate EWG/USDA pulls and are not additive to the headline subsidy total — no combined "total" is shown. Source: EWG Farm Subsidy Database / USDA, 2024.

Crop Insurance Premium Subsidy

$18.8M in federal crop-insurance premium subsidy (RMA, 2024).

This is a separate program total (premium-subsidy dollars only) — it is not part of the subsidy headline above and is shown on its own. Source: USDA RMA via EWG, 2024.

Top Subsidy Recipients

# Recipient 2024 Total
1 M.S. $369,763
2 R.R.S. $294,241
3 H & S Ranches, LLC $249,394
4 Finney Brothers Ranch LLC $199,776
5 Lamb Farm And Feedyard $158,522
6 Cooksley Ranch Company $158,457
7 Pine Canyon Ag LLC $149,266
8 Cliff Table Ag LLC $128,322
9 Pandorf Land & Cattle Inc $125,565
10 Zutavern Ranch Company $125,525

Top recipients by EWG totalfarm (2024). These named payments sum toward the headline total above. Source: EWG Farm Subsidy Database.

About Farming in Custer County

Custer County has roughly 1,083 farms working about 1,551,863 acres of land in farms (USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture), averaging ~1,433 acres per farm.

In Custer County, irrigated cropland rents for roughly $246/acre and farmland is valued near $2,892/acre (USDA NASS).

Local signals from public data: Moderately below state-average USDA $/acre; Rural county — eligible for rural-priority programs.

FarmGrant Opportunity Score

51 out of 100
Moderate Opportunity
#25 of 93 in Nebraska (74th pctile)
53rd national percentile
Funding Gap? 15.0/25
Program Eligibility? 23.0/25
Insurance Opportunity? 8.8/25
Economic Need? 5.0/25
What drives this score
  • Moderately below state-average USDA $/acre
  • Rural county — eligible for rural-priority programs
  • Farming-dependent economy
  • Above-average beginning producers (38 per 100 farms)
  • Elevated women-producer presence (63 per 100 farms)
  • High veteran population (8.2%)
  • Above-median loss ratio (2.66)

An opportunity-gap indicator (0–100) built from up to four public-data components — not a prediction that any farm will get funding or qualifies for a program. Sources: USDA ERS, NASS, RMA, and EWG subsidy records.

USDA Funding Per Acre

Historically, Custer County received about $4.82 per acre of farmland in USDA subsidies. That ranks #1,545 of 3,032 U.S. counties for USDA dollars per farmland acre.

2024 USDA subsidy $ (EWG totalfarm) ÷ land-in-farms acres (1,551,863 acres, USDA NASS 2022 Census). A descriptive county-wide statistic — not a prediction of what any individual farm received or will receive.

See how Custer County ranks against all U.S. counties →

County Land Economics & Demographics

Population
10,581
(2023, USDA ERS)
Median Income
$65,151
(USDA ERS)
Poverty Rate
8.9%
(USDA ERS)
Unemployment
1.7%
(USDA ERS)
Cropland Rent
$246/ac
(USDA NASS, irrig.)
Land Value
$2,892/ac
(USDA NASS, 2022 Census)
Insurance Policies
2,235
(USDA RMA)
Acres Insured
687,526
(USDA RMA)

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much USDA funding does Custer County receive?

Custer County recipients received about $7.5M in USDA farm subsidies in 2024, per the EWG Farm Subsidy Database (totalfarm). This is a single-year county total of recorded payments, not a forecast of future funding.

What USDA programs are available to farmers in Custer County?

Farmers may be eligible for a range of USDA programs — conservation (e.g. CRP, EQIP), commodity support (ARC/PLC), disaster assistance, federal crop insurance, and FSA loans. Eligibility depends on your farm; use the free Subsidy Finder to see programs you could qualify for.

How is the FarmGrant Opportunity Score calculated?

The Opportunity Score (0–100; 51 for Custer County) is an opportunity-gap indicator built from up to four public-data components — funding gap, program eligibility, insurance opportunity, and economic need — using USDA ERS, NASS, RMA, and EWG records. It is not a prediction that any farm will receive funding or qualifies for a specific program.

Nearby Counties in Nebraska

Could your farm benefit?

Farms in Custer County may qualify for USDA programs based on crop, conservation, and disaster activity. Run the free Subsidy Finder to see which programs you could qualify for, then prep your local USDA office visit.

Find Your Programs Prep USDA Visit Deadlines

Data as of June 02, 2026. Subsidy figures: USDA/EWG 2024 release. Farmland acres: USDA NASS 2022 Census. Opportunity score refreshed monthly. Each figure above carries its own data year; this page is never fresher than its oldest input.