Farmland Atlas · county record

McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $234 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,304 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17111. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in McHenry County stands at $234 per acre for 2026, up 17 percent from 2016. Corn yield has trended up 4 bushels per acre a year across 2008-2025, with a median of 177.8 bushels per acre and a worst year of 124.4 in 2012. Heat and drought caused 38 percent of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025, the largest single cause, and the share by period was 26 percent in 1989-1999, 38 percent in 2000-2009, 39 percent in 2010-2019, and 35 percent in 2020-2025. The county logged 30 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 107 of 1357 weeks (7.9 percent) since 2000.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$234/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 33rd lowest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$272/ac
2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$8,304/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 13% from 2017 while next door rose a median 17%
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
177.8 bu/ac
13 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.23
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 33rd highest of 101
Farmland rented
65%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 21st highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$128$234 dry$167$272 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$234/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+17.0%nominal, $200 to $234
Irrigated, 2025$272/ac
Pasture, 2024$55/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,304/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,070/ac
Census 2017$9,541/ac
Read with care— the 2022 census value fell 13% from 2017 while the 7 counties next door rose a median 17%. 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

200820102012201420162018202020222024158.0224.9median 177.8

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

Median, 2008–2025177.8 bu/ac13 published years
Lowest published year2012: 124.4 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.0 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2000200520102015202020251.022.540.061.00: 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$3.23
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.43claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.59$86.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 26
Worst year2012ratio 2.54
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 38% · excess moisture 33% · price decline (revenue policies) 17%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250270

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, 2000–2025107 of 1,357 weeks8% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200527 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202530 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.3 °F1991–2020 normal 61.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.13 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September24.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20226%
Drained by tile, 202246% of cropland76,981 ac
Farmed no-till, 202222% of cropland36,314 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland2,732 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021593,575792

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

CRP enrolled, 2025792 ac0.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202886 ac11% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$204/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202537.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202210,285−42.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202265%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
McHenry County$234$272 2025$8,304—$3.23
Boone County$267—$9,226192.2$2.42
Cook County$136—$18,054—$11.96
DeKalb County$318 2025—$7,704190.3$1.82
Kane County$274$238$12,276185.6$2.85
Lake County$125—$15,913—$7.18
Kenosha County, WI$184—$8,832173.5$3.99
Walworth County, WI$236$230 2024$8,759179.8$2.24
Median next door$210$238 1 co.$9,226185.6$2.85

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. McHenry 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/mchenry-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.