Farmland Atlas · county record

Kankakee County, Illinois

Kankakee County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $250 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,734 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17091. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Kankakee County is $250 per acre in 2026, up 37.4 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs $290 per acre, a multiple of 1.16 over non-irrigated, up from 1.11 in 2010, though the direction of that multiple shows no clear trend. Crop insurance losses over 1989-2025 total $153.1 million, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 44 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities fell from 53 percent in 1989-1999 to 36 percent in 2000-2009 to 31 percent in 2010-2019, then rose to 37 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks stayed low, 28 of 1357 weeks since 2000, worst year 2003 with 11 weeks.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$250/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 42nd lowest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$290/ac
2026 county average
IL median $275 · 4th highest of 9
Land and buildings
$6,734/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 14% from 2017 while next door rose a median 18%
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
174.3 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 199.3
IL median 190.2 · 23rd lowest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.24
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · tied for 45th highest of 101
Farmland rented
66%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 17th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$155$250 dry$181$290 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$250/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+37.4%nominal, $182 to $250
Irrigated, 2026$290/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.25$250 ÷ 199.3 bu, county yield 2019–2023

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,734/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,612/ac
Census 2017$7,822/ac
Read with care— the 2022 census value fell 14% from 2017 while the 7 counties next door rose a median 18%. 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

20082010201220142016201820202022177.0209.5207.5median 174.3

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

Median, 2008–2023174.3 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2019–2023199.3 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2015: 92.5 bu/ac53% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+3.4 bu/ac a year±3.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.104.090.101.00: 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$2.24
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.36claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.65$153.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 35
Worst year2015ratio 4.09
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 44% · heat and drought 34% · price decline (revenue policies) 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020253110

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, 2000–202528 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200311 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.0 °F1991–2020 normal 63.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.07 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 92% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20224%
Drained by tile, 202253% of cropland163,084 ac
Farmed no-till, 202231% of cropland95,514 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland11,977 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021374,1494,144

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,144 ac1.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,214 ac53% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$224/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202558.1 MW solar · 175 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20221,740−41.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202266%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Kankakee County$250$290$6,734174.3$2.24
Ford County$294—$9,956186.7$1.11
Grundy County$291—$10,311188.0$2.09
Iroquois County——$8,638186.2$1.54
Livingston County$278 2023—$10,108197.2$1.21
Will County$231—$10,259177.8$3.38
Lake County, IN$186—$7,916167.4$2.73
Newton County, IN$235—$8,765185.1$1.32
Median next door$235—$9,956186.2$1.54

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. Kankakee 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/kankakee-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.