Opinion ID: 1794630
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Reasonably Probable Yield

Text: The trial court relied upon Bristol's testimony regarding the yield on the unflooded portion of the 1990 soybean crop, on the same field, in determining a reasonably probable yield for the damage calculation. In Miller v. Drainage District, 112 Neb. 206, 199 N.W. 28 (1924), the defendant in a crop damage case complained when the plaintiff was allowed to testify regarding the probable yield and the market value of his crop. This court determined that the plaintiff was competent to testify as to the value of his own personal property and stated: `In an action for damages on account of an injury to chattels, the owner of such chattels is qualified by reason of that relationship to give his estimate of their value.' Id. at 209, 199 N.W. at 29. In the case at bar, the trial court properly applied the factors found in Hopper v. Elkhorn Valley Drainage District, 108 Neb. 550, 188 N.W. 239 (1922); Bristol's yield projection of 55 bushels per acre was neither speculative nor uncertain given the status of the crop at the time of injury. Rasmussen did not cross-examine Bristol regarding the probable yield, nor was any evidence offered to refute the 55-bushel per acre projection. The evidence regarding the probable yield, based on Bristol's testimony and the actual yield for the same field in 1990, was sufficient for the trier of fact to estimate and assess Bristol's damages with a reasonable degree of certainty and exactness.