Farmland Atlas · county record

DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $318 an acre (2025); land and buildings $7,704 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17037. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in DeKalb County stands at $318 per acre in 2025, up 14.4 percent from 2014. Corn yields have trended up 3.3 bushels per acre a year across 2008-2025, with a median of 190.3 bushels per acre and a worst year of 159.3 in 2012. Heat and drought made up 25 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999, 12 percent in 2000-2009, 20 percent in 2010-2019, and 32 percent in 2020-2025. Excess moisture and flood remains the largest cause of indemnities overall, at 31 percent, and no cropland in the county is irrigated.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$318/ac
2025 county average
IL median of 2025 surveys $193 · 2nd highest of 10
Land and buildings
$7,704/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 18% from 2017 while next door rose a median 16%
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$1.42
$318 ÷ 223.5 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
190.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 223.5
IL median 190.2 · 41st highest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.82
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · tied for 46th lowest of 101
Farmland rented
72%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 7th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$180$318 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, 2025$318/ac
Change 2014 to 2025+14.4%nominal, $278 to $318
Pasture, 2023$37/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.42$318 ÷ 223.5 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,704/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,853/ac
Census 2017$9,420/ac
Read with care— the 2022 census value fell 18% from 2017 while the 7 counties next door rose a median 16%. 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

200820102012201420162018202020222024189.0244.4median 190.3

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

Median, 2008–2025190.3 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025223.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 159.3 bu/ac84% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2000200520102015202020250.272.780.011.00: 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$1.82
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.37claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.45$110.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 26
Worst year2019ratio 2.78
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 31% · area plans 24% · heat and drought 19%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250270

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, 2000–202585 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200527 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20252 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.3 °F1991–2020 normal 62.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.11 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202271% of cropland244,925 ac
Farmed no-till, 202213% of cropland45,763 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland5,369 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202105,3835,097

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

CRP enrolled, 20255,097 ac1.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,695 ac33% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$292/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202558.2 MW solar · 217.5 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202213,480−27.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202272%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
DeKalb County$318 2025—$7,704190.3$1.82
Boone County$267—$9,226192.2$2.42
Kane County$274$238$12,276185.6$2.85
Kendall County$297—$11,745—$2.54
LaSalle County$277—$10,136192.0$1.38
Lee County$283$323$10,639188.4$1.25
McHenry County$234$272 2025$8,304—$3.23
Ogle County$282—$9,818192.3$1.33
Median next door$277$281 2 co.$10,136192.0$2.42

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. DeKalb 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/dekalb-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.