Farmland Atlas · county record

Mason County, Illinois

Mason County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $257 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,722 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 188.3 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17125. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent, non-irrigated
$257/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 41st highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$275/ac
2026 county average
IL median $275 · 5th lowest of 9
Land and buildings
$8,722/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 44th highest of 91
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
188.3 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 211.7 · irrigated and dryland combined
IL median 190.2 · 38th lowest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.69
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 41st lowest of 101
Farmland rented
58%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 45th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$165$257 dry$159$275 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$257/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+17.4%nominal, $219 to $257
Irrigated, 2026$275/ac
Pasture, 2024$49/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,722/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,846/ac
Census 2017$6,983/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+24.9%+4.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 54% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024182.0219.9215.3median 188.3

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

Median, 2008–2025188.3 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025211.7 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 110.2 bu/ac59% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.1 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.553.750.191.00: 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$1.69
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.59$94.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 31
Worst year2012ratio 3.75
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025other 29% · heat and drought 29% · excess moisture 26%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025142514

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, 2000–202593 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200525 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202520 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202666.0 °F1991–2020 normal 65.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.12 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 92% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.3 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202254%
Drained by tile, 20228% of cropland22,280 ac
Farmed no-till, 202231% of cropland88,438 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland26,333 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202170322,091

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

CRP enrolled, 202522,091 ac7.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20286,506 ac30% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$226/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202556 MW solar · 356 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,964+53.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202258%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mason County$257$275$8,722188.3$1.69
Cass County$306$293 2023$7,711198.7$1.34
Fulton County$263—$6,836193.1$1.78
Logan County$326—$11,349209.5$0.96
Menard County$288$256 2025$9,257209.3$1.31
Schuyler County$249—$6,519182.4$2.63
Tazewell County$266$268$10,389205.2$0.90
Median next door$277$268 1 co.$8,484202.0$1.33

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. Mason 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/mason-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.

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