Farmland Atlas · county record

Brown County, Illinois

Brown County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $233 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,571 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 178.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17009. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Brown County averages $233 per acre for 2026, up 25.9 percent from 2016. Land and buildings carry a census value of $6,571 per acre in 2022, up 17.4 percent from 2017, or 3.3 percent a year. Cropland here is 0 percent irrigated, so yield rests on rain and heat timing. Corn yields trended up 3.9 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 178.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 87 in 2012. Drought weeks stayed low across 2000-2025, at 4.1 percent of all weeks, with 2000 the worst year at 17 weeks.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$233/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 32nd lowest of 86
Land and buildings
$6,571/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 24th lowest of 91
Rent as % of land value
3.13%
$206 dry rent ÷ $6,571 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
178.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 184.2
IL median 190.2 · 27th lowest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.05
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 50th highest of 101
Farmland rented
30%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 4th lowest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$131$233 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$233/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+25.9%nominal, $185 to $233
Pasture, 2026$40/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.26$233 ÷ 184.2 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,571/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,987/ac
Census 2017$5,598/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+17.4%+3.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.13%$206 ÷ $6,571; cropland 54% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024152.0201.5177.5median 178.2

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

Median, 2008–2024178.2 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024184.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 87.0 bu/ac49% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+3.9 bu/ac a year±2.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200420092014201920240.365.070.071.00: 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$2.05
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.75$53.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 22
Worst year2012ratio 5.07
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 28% · heat and drought 27% · other 21%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025170

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, 2000–202556 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200017 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.3 °F1991–2020 normal 65.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 19760.00 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 95% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202221% of cropland18,492 ac
Farmed no-till, 202233% of cropland28,687 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland3,853 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202112313,97311,365

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

CRP enrolled, 202511,365 ac13.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,810 ac34% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$230/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 1.5 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20225,288−13.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202230%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Brown County$233—$6,571178.2$2.05
Adams County$238—$8,631174.8$2.04
Cass County$306$293 2023$7,711198.7$1.34
Morgan County$281$153 2023$9,869198.6$1.18
Pike County$219—$8,049—$2.41
Schuyler County$249—$6,519182.4$2.63
Median next door$249—$8,049190.5$2.04

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. Brown 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/brown-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.