Farmland Atlas · county record

Decatur County, Indiana

Decatur County, IN: non-irrigated cash rent $235 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,415 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 184.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 18031. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Decatur County stands at $235 per acre for 2026, up 29.1 percent from 2016. Land value in the 2022 census was $9,415 per acre, with a 32.9 percent change from 2017 to 2022, or 5.9 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 4.5 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 184.8 bushels per acre and a worst year of 86.1 in 2012. Crop insurance indemnities for 1989-2025 total $79.4 million, with heat and drought the largest cause at 49 percent; that share ran 36 percent in 1989-1999, 37 percent in 2000-2009, 57 percent in 2010-2019, and 34 percent in 2020-2025. No irrigation is recorded here, and no weeks of severe drought or worse were logged from 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$235/ac
2026 county average
IN median $217 · tied for 26th highest of 89
Land and buildings
$9,415/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IN median $8,158 · 19th highest of 89
Rent as % of land value
2.26%
$213 dry rent ÷ $9,415 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
184.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 214.4
IN median 178.1 · 19th highest of 76
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.03
2016–2025, closed crop years
IN median $2.54 · 35th lowest of 92
Farmland rented
47%
2022 census, rented from others
IN median 51% · 34th lowest of 92

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$151$235 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$235/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+29.1%nominal, $182 to $235
Pasture, 2025$60/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.10$235 ÷ 214.4 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,415/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,321/ac
Census 2017$7,083/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.9%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.26%$213 ÷ $9,415; cropland 88% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024158.0221.9215.3median 184.8

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

Median, 2008–2025184.8 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025214.4 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 86.1 bu/ac47% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.5 bu/ac a year±2.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

2000200520102015202020250.284.410.691.00: 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$2.03
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.28claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.59$79.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 26
Worst year2012ratio 4.41
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 49% · excess moisture 28% · other 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250130

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, 2000–202535 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201213 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.2 °F1991–2020 normal 64.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.28 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September26.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.7 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, 202260% of cropland89,634 ac
Farmed no-till, 202241% of cropland61,830 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland12,371 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202103,6812,079

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,079 ac1.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028711 ac34% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$239/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20251.1 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202216,294+47.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202247%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Decatur County$235—$9,415184.8$2.03
Bartholomew County$224$258$6,180180.9$2.63
Franklin County$177—$8,458180.8$3.53
Jennings County$209—$6,620167.0$7.97
Ripley County$174—$6,590168.6$8.05
Rush County$242—$10,854191.2$1.25
Shelby County$249—$10,164178.8$1.54
Median next door$217$258 1 co.$7,539179.8$3.08

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. Decatur County, Indiana. 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/indiana/decatur-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.