County farm facts

Elkhart County, Indiana

Sales through Oct 31, 2026

Sold for
$15,645/ac
Middle of 30 bare farmland sales of 20+ acres, Nov 2024 to Oct 2026. Middle half $10,103 to $22,679. Two windows: this covers 24 months; the recorded-sales median further down covers the last 12 months, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026: 18 sales, $17,133 an acre. Every sale behind both.

Most Indiana sales are marked not valid for trending by the state.

Newest sales town, not parcel

Rent$230/ac NASS 2026, county average
Nearest bid
Rain

Recorded prices. Not an appraisal. No adjustments. A recorded price is what the state's transfer record says was paid once the sale closed, auction or private; never an asking price.

Sales: Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, sales disclosure forms (from STATS Indiana), farm parcels. Rent: USDA NASS.

Elkhart County, IN: non-irrigated cash rent $230 an acre (2026); land and buildings $11,769 an acre in the 2022 census. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 18039. Figures as of Nov 5, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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Stands out against its own record

$230

Non-irrigated cash rent, 2026: the highest of 17 surveys since 2008; up 44% from $160 in 2016.

USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, 2026

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$230/ac
2026 county average
IN median $217 · tied for 31st highest of 89
Cash rent, irrigated
$307/ac
2026 county average
IN median $276 · 2nd highest of 14
Land and buildings
$11,769/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · IN farm real estate 2026: $9,150 (land and buildings, state survey)
IN median $8,158 · 2nd highest of 89
Corn yield, 2020-24 average
180.0 bu/ac
high and low dropped · 2024 county yield 179.3 · irrigated and dryland combined · rent-per-bushel trend withheld: county yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.15
2016–2025, closed crop years
IN median $2.54 · 38th lowest of 92
Farmland rented
45%
2022 census, rented from others
IN median 51% · 28th lowest of 92
Median sale price, bare land, 20+ acres
$17,133/ac
18 recorded bare farmland sales, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026; sales dated through Oct 31, 2026
Open on the map Compare Indiana cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures
Class III milk futures
Feeder cattle futures
Live cattle futures
Lean hog futures

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Indiana cash bids by town · Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Cash bids by town near the middle of Elkhart County: South Bend (21 mi), Columbia City (36 mi), Churubusco (38 mi).

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 2 ethanol plants, 1 oilseed crusher
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Elkhart County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from Renewable Fuels Association, EIA, NOPA, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Elkhart County, Indiana

Drought, year by year

200020052010201520202025160

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, 2000–202553 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200016 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–20256 weeks
2026 so far0 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.8 °F1991–2020 normal 61.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.30 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September, usual23.0 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 21.9 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeApr 27, Oct 22middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days174middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,748middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,818

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024141.0179.3median 173.2

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

Trend for rent per bushelCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
2024 county yield179.3 bu/acall practices
2020-24 average180.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2024173.2 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2012: 92.5 bu/ac53% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+2.7 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$115$230 dry$160$307 irrigated

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published Indiana county rate, side by side: Indiana cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$230/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+43.8%nominal, $160 to $230
Irrigated, 2026$307/ac
Pasture, 2026$43/ac
Rent as a share of corn grossCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres (2024)

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel is withheld here: it needs the county trend, and the trend is withheld (see the corn yield section). The calculator below takes your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$11,769/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,067/ac
Census 2017$11,178/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+5.3%+1.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census valueAbout 20% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything
Indiana cropland, 2026 state survey$8,600/ac+4.2% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Indiana farm real estate, 2026$9,150/acland and buildings, state average
Indiana pasture, 2026$2,850/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Indiana average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Recorded farm sales

Sale counts and the median price buyers paid per acre in Elkhart County, from Indiana sales disclosure forms (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance), load here.

What has farmland sold for in Elkhart County, Indiana?

18 recorded market sales of bare farmland (no buildings by the property class, no forest), 20 or more acres, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026, with a median of $17,133 an acre; the middle half of sales fell between $12,774 and $22,679 an acre. Sales are dated through Oct 31, 2026. These are counted deed records from Indiana sales disclosure forms, not a model or an appraisal, and no buyer or seller is named.

Land sales: Recorded sales in Elkhart County, sale by sale.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Elkhart County.

Insuring pasture or hay? PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Elkhart County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

200520102015202020250.193.530.111.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 2005 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$2.15
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.36claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.55$25.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 21crop years 2005–2025 with a loss ratio
Worst year2012ratio 3.53, of the 21 crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025area plans 36% · heat and drought 29% · other 14%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

198619911996200120062011201620218808342

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

CRP enrolled, 2025342 ac0.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2027–202971 ac21% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$224/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202220%
Drained by tile, 202243% of cropland71,777 ac
Farmed no-till, 202228% of cropland47,110 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland14,731 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20251.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202247,166−20.2% since 2017
Milk cows, 202215,389head, Census of Agriculture
Beef cows, 20222,613head, Census of Agriculture
Cattle on feed, 20222,456head, Census of Agriculture
Hogs and pigs, 202262,450head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Elkhart County, Indiana change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Elkhart County$230$307$11,769173.2$2.15
Kosciusko County$219$284 2025$8,605173.2$1.35
LaGrange County$159$274$14,455142.8$1.79
Marshall County$219$210$7,190172.2$2.00
Noble County$190$233$9,064169.8$1.64
St. Joseph County$196$312$8,309161.9$3.03
Cass County, MI$126$280$5,984158.8$3.83
St. Joseph County, MI$131$321$7,367142.7$1.90
Median next door$190$277$8,309161.9$1.90

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Elkhart County, Indiana. Figures as of Nov 5, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/indiana/elkhart-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).