Farmland Atlas · county record

Fulton County, Illinois

Fulton County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $263 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,836 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 193.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17057. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Fulton County averages $263 per acre in 2026, up 28.9 percent from 2016. Census land value stands at $6,836 per acre in 2022, with rent equal to 3.76 percent of that value. Corn yield trend runs 3.3 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 193.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 114.5 in 2012. Solar operating capacity is 156.5 MW, with no wind operating or proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$263/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 40th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$6,836/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 26th lowest of 91
Rent as % of land value
3.76%
$257 dry rent ÷ $6,836 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
193.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 207.2
IL median 190.2 · 31st highest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.78
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 44th lowest of 101
Farmland rented
42%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 16th lowest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$160$263 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$263/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+28.9%nominal, $204 to $263
Pasture, 2026$62/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.27$263 ÷ 207.2 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,836/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,249/ac
Census 2017$6,193/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+10.4%+2.0% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.76%$257 ÷ $6,836; cropland 67% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024193.0218.0211.9median 193.1

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

Median, 2008–2025193.1 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025207.2 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 114.5 bu/ac59% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±2.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.492.920.111.00: 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$1.78
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.30claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.54$95.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 28
Worst year2012ratio 2.92
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 40% · heat and drought 40% · price decline (revenue policies) 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025132513

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, 2000–202590 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200525 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202514 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.0 °F1991–2020 normal 64.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.20 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 90% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.3 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, 202233% of cropland97,931 ac
Farmed no-till, 202251% of cropland149,343 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland17,952 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202139811,66610,377

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

CRP enrolled, 202510,377 ac3.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,330 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$262/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025156.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202222,030−20.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202242%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Fulton County$263—$6,836193.1$1.78
Knox County$296—$8,642202.7$0.96
Mason County$257$275$8,722188.3$1.69
McDonough County$293—$9,948198.1$1.22
Peoria County$253—$7,216210.8$1.33
Schuyler County$249—$6,519182.4$2.63
Tazewell County$266$268$10,389205.2$0.90
Warren County$281—$10,349—$0.76
Median next door$266$272 2 co.$8,722200.4$1.22

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. Fulton 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/fulton-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.