Farmland Atlas · county record

Cass County, Illinois

Cass County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $306 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,711 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 198.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17017. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cass County runs $306 per acre in 2026, up 23.4 percent from 2016. Census land value came in at $7,711 per acre in 2022, up 20.5 percent from 2017, 3.8 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 3.8 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2023, with a median of 198.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 113.2 in 2012. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities moved 18 percent in 1989-1999, 24 percent in 2000-2009, 52 percent in 2010-2019, and 30 percent in 2020-2025. The county drew severe drought or worse for 65 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2000 the worst year at 17 weeks and 10 weeks logged in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$306/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 9th highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$293/ac
2023 county average
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$7,711/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 34th lowest of 91
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
198.7 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 210.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
IL median 190.2 · 21st highest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.34
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 31st lowest of 101
Farmland rented
51%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 37th lowest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$168$306 dry$161$293 irrigated

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$306/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+23.4%nominal, $248 to $306
Irrigated, 2023$293/ac
Pasture, 2026$47/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,711/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,592/ac
Census 2017$6,398/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+20.5%+3.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 22% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022195.0223.5215.8median 198.7

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

Median, 2008–2023198.7 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2019–2023210.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 113.2 bu/ac57% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+3.8 bu/ac a year±2.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20062011201620210.034.000.241.00: 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$1.34
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.23claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.42$35.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium1 of 20
Worst year2012ratio 4.00
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 44% · excess moisture 32% · other 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025179

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, 2000–202565 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200017 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202510 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.8 °F1991–2020 normal 65.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976−0.09 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202224% of cropland32,156 ac
Farmed no-till, 202244% of cropland57,218 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland7,207 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202122715,14812,066

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

CRP enrolled, 202512,066 ac9.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,130 ac34% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$239/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025153 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20222,826−39.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202251%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cass County$306$293 2023$7,711198.7$1.34
Brown County$233—$6,571178.2$2.05
Mason County$257$275$8,722188.3$1.69
Menard County$288$256 2025$9,257209.3$1.31
Morgan County$281$153 2023$9,869198.6$1.18
Sangamon County$334—$7,261210.9$1.22
Schuyler County$249—$6,519182.4$2.63
Median next door$269$275 1 co.$7,992193.5$1.50

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. Cass 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/cass-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.