Farmland Atlas · county record

Knox County, Illinois

Knox County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $296 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,642 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 202.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17095. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Knox County stands at $296 per acre for 2026, up 30.4 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings was $8,642 per acre in 2022, with land value change of 18.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 3.4 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 3.4 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 202.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 159.9 in 2010. Heat and drought is the largest cause of indemnities over 1989-2025 at 32 percent, and its share moved 16 percent, 43 percent, 34 percent, 23 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. The loss ratio over 2016-2025 closed crop years was 0.19, and drought weeks 2021-2025 came to 10.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$296/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 13th highest of 86
Land and buildings
$8,642/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 45th highest of 91
Rent as % of land value
3.07%
$265 dry rent ÷ $8,642 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
202.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 228.1
IL median 190.2 · 14th highest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$0.96
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · tied for 12th lowest of 101
Farmland rented
57%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 47th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$179$296 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$296/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+30.4%nominal, $227 to $296
Pasture, 2026$39/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,642/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,868/ac
Census 2017$7,319/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.1%+3.4% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.07%$265 ÷ $8,642; cropland 84% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024200.0238.2236.4median 202.7

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

Median, 2008–2025202.7 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025228.1 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 159.9 bu/ac79% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.4 bu/ac a year±1.6 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920242.190.071.00: 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$0.96
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.19claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.31$61.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 32
Worst year1989ratio 2.19
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 32% · excess moisture 24% · price decline (revenue policies) 18%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020253278

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, 2000–202580 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200527 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202510 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.9 °F1991–2020 normal 64.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.17 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202256% of cropland208,684 ac
Farmed no-till, 202248% of cropland177,937 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland14,964 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202110813,7609,499

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

CRP enrolled, 20259,499 ac2.6% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,595 ac27% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$265/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202516 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202224,407+11.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Knox County$296$8,642202.7$0.96
Fulton County$263$6,836193.1$1.78
Henry County$272 2023$10,039193.7$1.82
Mercer County$273$9,250192.0$1.15
Peoria County$253$7,216210.8$1.33
Stark County$292$9,973211.1$0.99
Warren County$281$10,349—$0.76
Median next door$273$9,612193.7$1.24

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. Knox 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/knox-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.