Farmland Atlas · county record

Whiteside County, Illinois

Whiteside County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $270 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,976 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 188.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17195. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Whiteside County averages $270 per acre in 2026, up 15.4 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs $303 per acre, a multiple of 1.12 over non-irrigated, down from 1.27 in 2008, with no clear direction over that span. Corn yield trend runs 3.6 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 188.8 bushels per acre and a worst year of 139.8 in 2012. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $106.4 million, led by excess moisture and flood at 34 percent, and heat and drought's share moved 34 percent, 29 percent, 28 percent, then 39 percent across the four periods listed. Census land value sits at $8,976 per acre in 2022, up 13.7 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$270/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 35th highest of 86
Cash rent, irrigated
$303/ac
2026 county average
IL median $275 · 3rd highest of 9
Land and buildings
$8,976/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 38th highest of 91
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
188.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 217.4 · irrigated and dryland combined
IL median 190.2 · 40th lowest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.88
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 48th lowest of 101
Farmland rented
55%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 50th highest of 101

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$3502010201520202025$177$270 dry$225$303 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$270/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+15.4%nominal, $234 to $270
Irrigated, 2026$303/ac
Pasture, 2026$70/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,976/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,841/ac
Census 2017$7,892/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+13.7%+2.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 24% of cropland is irrigated (USGS 2015 irrigated acres over 2022 harvested cropland), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024181.0230.2229.8median 188.8

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

Median, 2008–2025188.8 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025217.4 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 139.8 bu/ac74% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.6 bu/ac a year±1.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.162.300.091.00: 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$1.88
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.33claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.43$106.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 33
Worst year2019ratio 2.30
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 34% · heat and drought 30% · price decline (revenue policies) 19%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020251277

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, 2000–202596 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200527 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202511 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.5 °F1991–2020 normal 63.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.26 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.4 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, 202235% of cropland108,883 ac
Farmed no-till, 202220% of cropland62,727 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland18,084 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021217,55816,496

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

CRP enrolled, 202516,496 ac5.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20283,496 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$249/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202539.6 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202220,292−21.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202255%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Whiteside County$270$303$8,976188.8$1.88
Clinton County, IA$304—$9,600196.6$1.71
Bureau County$301$310$10,199199.2$1.96
Carroll County$290$356 2025$9,704204.6$1.07
Henry County$272 2023—$10,039193.7$1.82
Lee County$283$323$10,639188.4$1.25
Ogle County$282—$9,818192.3$1.33
Rock Island County$228—$9,125198.3$1.56
Median next door$287$317 2 co.$9,818196.6$1.56

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. Whiteside 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/whiteside-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.