Farmland Atlas · county record

Williamson County, Illinois

Williamson County, IL: non-irrigated cash rent $101 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,701 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 153.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 17199. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent here runs $101 per acre, up 18.1 percent from 2016 to 2026. None of the harvested cropland is irrigated, per the 2022 census. Corn yields have trended up 2.5 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2024, with a median of 153.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 33.7 in 2012. Crop insurance losses over 1989-2025 total $54.5 million, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 51 percent; heat and drought's share moved from 45 percent in 1989-1999 to 20 percent in 2000-2009, 50 percent in 2010-2019, and 30 percent in 2020-2025. July nights average 69 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 67.5 F, and the long trend since 1976 runs 0.55 F per decade, warming.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$101/ac
2026 county average
IL median $254 · 2nd lowest of 86
Land and buildings
$4,701/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IL median $8,638 · 5th lowest of 91
Rent as % of land value
1.87%
$88 dry rent ÷ $4,701 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
153.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 162.9
IL median 190.2 · 6th lowest of 82
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
IL median $2.04 · 6th highest of 101
Farmland rented
40%
2022 census, rented from others
IL median 55% · 12th lowest of 101

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$67$101 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$101/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+18.1%nominal, $86 to $101
Pasture, 2026$25/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.62$101 ÷ 162.9 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,701/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,408/ac
Census 2017$3,953/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.9%+3.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.87%$88 ÷ $4,701; cropland 65% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024140.0173.5144.9median 153.2

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

Median, 2008–2024153.2 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024162.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 33.7 bu/ac22% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+2.5 bu/ac a year±3.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720220.744.232.231.00: 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$11.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.70claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.83$54.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 19
Worst year2012ratio 4.23
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 51% · heat and drought 38% · area plans 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250131

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, 2000–202534 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201213 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20259 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.0 °F1991–2020 normal 67.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.55 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20226% of cropland3,738 ac
Farmed no-till, 202248% of cropland31,855 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland4,562 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202189012,8783,372

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,372 ac5.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028706 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$96/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202517.3 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202210,399+32.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202240%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Williamson County$101$4,701153.2$11.52
Franklin County$126$5,677152.4$8.36
Jackson County$172$5,094162.2$5.88
Johnson County$129 2025$4,327—$13.45
Saline County$150$4,910170.3$5.68
Union County$87$5,116—$12.50
Median next door$138$5,094162.2$8.36

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. Williamson 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/williamson-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.