NRDs decide what water you have
Nebraska's Natural Resources Districts are unusual in American water administration: locally governed, with real regulatory authority over groundwater. They set allocations, certify which acres may be irrigated, impose metering, and in some districts have declared moratoria on new wells.
The consequence for a buyer is that identical parcels in different districts carry different rights. Before buying irrigated ground, identify the NRD, confirm the certified irrigated acres attached to the parcel, and understand the current allocation and any pending changes.
Certified acres are the key concept. In districts where they are fixed, the right to irrigate a specific number of acres has value independent of the land, and buying ground without them means buying dryland at an irrigated price if you are not careful.
The Sandhills are their own market
The Sandhills region — grass-stabilised dunes over shallow groundwater — is grazing country, and the economics reflect that. Value tracks carrying capacity, water development for livestock, fencing condition and access.
Cultivation is generally inadvisable and in places restricted, because breaking the sod risks reactivating dune movement. Buyers evaluating Sandhills ground should be thinking in animal units rather than bushels.
Access and section roads
Much rural Nebraska is laid out on the section grid with public roads on section lines, which makes access straightforward in most cases. Where a parcel does not touch a maintained road, verify legal access in recorded documents rather than relying on a field approach.
What to verify
NRD and its current rules. Certified irrigated acres and allocation. Well registration and metering compliance. Existing leases, cash rent and whether they survive closing. Then run the risk scorecard.