Farmland Atlas · county record

Boone County, Illinois

Boone County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $267 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,226 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 192.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17007. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Boone County stands at $267 per acre for 2026, up 7.7 percent from 2016. Census land value in 2022 was $9,226 per acre, with that rent equal to 2.85 percent of value. Corn yield trend runs 2.9 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 192.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 148 in 2009. Heat and drought accounts for 40 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, with its share moving 35 percent, 26 percent, 49 percent, and 28 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. Drought weeks were 94 of 1357 since 2000, with 21 of those coming in 2021-2025. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, drawn entirely from groundwater as of 2015.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$267/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · tied for 36th highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$301/ac
2013 county average
too few 2013 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$9,226/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 35th highest of 91
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
192.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 211.6
IL median 190.2 · 33rd highest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.42
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 43rd highest of 101
Farmland rented
69%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 10th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$157$267 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$267/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+7.7%nominal, $248 to $267
Irrigated, 2013$301/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.26$267 ÷ 211.6 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,226/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,849/ac
Census 2017$7,811/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.1%+3.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.85%$263 ÷ $9,226; cropland 95% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024169.0225.2median 192.2

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025192.2 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025211.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2009: 148.0 bu/ac77% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.9 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620210.213.920.031.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$2.42
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.38claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.59$63.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 25
Worst year2012ratio 3.92
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 40% · excess moisture 23% · area plans 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250260

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–202594 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200526 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202521 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.9 °F1991–2020 normal 61.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.15 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202250% of cropland58,916 ac
Farmed no-till, 202213% of cropland15,194 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland2,307 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021822,551808

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 2025808 ac0.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028264 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$256/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202517.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,824−31.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202269%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Boone County$267—$9,226192.2$2.42
DeKalb County$318 2025—$7,704190.3$1.82
McHenry County$234$272 2025$8,304—$3.23
Winnebago County$264—$8,082187.6$2.86
Rock County, WI$223$257 2025$8,459185.3$1.95
Walworth County, WI$236$230 2024$8,759179.8$2.24
Median next door$235—$8,304186.5$2.24

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Boone County, Illinois. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/illinois/boone-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.