Farmland Atlas · county record

Champaign County, Illinois

Champaign County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $316 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,187 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Champaign County stands at $316 per acre for 2026, up 19.2 percent from 2016. Corn yields carry a rising trend of 3.8 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2023, with a median of 191.3 bushels per acre and a low of 108.9 in 2012. Heat and drought drove 58 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, though that share moved differently across periods: 69 percent in 1989-1999, 22 percent in 2000-2009, 72 percent in 2010-2019, and 16 percent in 2020-2025. Irrigation covers 3 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, all of it drawn from groundwater as of 2015.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$316/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 7th highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$297/ac
2019 county average
too few 2019 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$7,187/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 23% from 2017 while next door rose a median 28%
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
191.3 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 210.0
IL median 190.2 · 36th highest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.06
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 15th lowest of 101
Farmland rented
68%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 12th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$196$316 dry$224$297 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$316/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.2%nominal, $265 to $316
Irrigated, 2019$297/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.50$316 ÷ 210.0 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,187/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,961/ac
Census 2017$9,317/ac
Read with care— the 2022 census value fell 23% from 2017 while the 5 counties next door rose a median 28%. The census counts buildings and small residential farms, so the change since 2017, the rent-to-value ratio and the rank are withheld

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022176.0222.4218.2median 191.3

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

Median, 2008–2023191.3 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023210.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 108.9 bu/ac57% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+3.8 bu/ac a year±2.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.344.980.211.00: 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$1.06
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.22claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.50$174.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 35
Worst year2012ratio 4.98
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 58% · price decline (revenue policies) 18% · excess moisture 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025816

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, 2000–202544 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202516 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202525 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.1 °F1991–2020 normal 64.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.24 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September23.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20223%
Drained by tile, 202272% of cropland379,293 ac
Farmed no-till, 202219% of cropland97,971 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland21,451 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021010,6009,182

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,182 ac1.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,014 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$270/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202536.7 MW solar · 0.1 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20225,423−25.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202268%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Champaign County$316$7,187191.3$1.06
Douglas County$313$11,812208.6$0.73
Ford County$294$9,956186.7$1.11
McLean County$326$7,074203.2$0.49
Piatt County$320 2025$12,224214.8$0.58
Vermilion County$267$6,777194.2$1.18
Median next door$304$9,956203.2$0.73

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. Champaign 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/champaign-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.