Farmland Atlas · county record

Ford County, Illinois

Ford County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $294 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,956 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 186.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17053. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Ford County averages $294 per acre for 2026, up 23.5 percent from 2016. The census puts land and buildings value at $9,956 per acre in 2022, with that value rising 28.2 percent from 2017 to 2022, 5.1 percent a year. Rent as a share of that census value is 2.64 percent. Corn yield trend runs 4.9 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2023, with a median of 186.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 63.9 in 2012. Crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025 total $157.6 million, with heat and drought the largest cause at 61 percent, and the loss ratio over 2016-2025 sits at 0.19. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland, all from groundwater.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$294/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 14th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$9,956/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 24th highest of 91
Rent as % of land value
2.64%
$263 dry rent ÷ $9,956 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
186.7 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 204.3
IL median 190.2 · 34th lowest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.11
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · tied for 18th lowest of 101
Farmland rented
67%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 15th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$170$294 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$294/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+23.5%nominal, $238 to $294
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.44$294 ÷ 204.3 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,956/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,581/ac
Census 2017$7,769/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.2%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.64%$263 ÷ $9,956; cropland 93% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022175.0223.3median 186.7

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

Median, 2008–2023186.7 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023204.3 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 63.9 bu/ac34% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+4.9 bu/ac a year±3.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.068.260.051.00: 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$1.11
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.19claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.69$157.6 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 35
Worst year2012ratio 8.26
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 61% · excess moisture 14% · price decline (revenue policies) 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025713

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, 2000–202541 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202513 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202520 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.2 °F1991–2020 normal 63.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.18 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% 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, 20221%
Drained by tile, 202261% of cropland159,519 ac
Farmed no-till, 202229% of cropland76,316 ac
Cover crops, 20225% of cropland12,085 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202109,580

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,580 ac3.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,584 ac48% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$241/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20255 MW solar · 305.3 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,742+59.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202267%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Ford County$294—$9,956186.7$1.11
Champaign County$316—$7,187191.3$1.06
Iroquois County——$8,638186.2$1.54
Kankakee County$250$290$6,734174.3$2.24
Livingston County$278 2023—$10,108197.2$1.21
McLean County$326—$7,074203.2$0.49
Vermilion County$267—$6,777194.2$1.18
Median next door$292$290 1 co.$7,131192.8$1.20

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. Ford 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/ford-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.