Farmland Atlas · county record

Elkhart County, Indiana

Elkhart County, IN: non-irrigated cash rent $230 an acre (2026); land and buildings $11,769 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 173.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 18039. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Elkhart County stands at $230 per acre in 2026, up 43.8 percent from 2016. Irrigated cash rent runs $307 per acre; the irrigated multiple over non-irrigated rent was 1.55 in 2009 and is 1.33 in 2026, direction falling. Corn yield trend is up 2.7 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 173.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 92.5 in 2012. Heat and drought's share of indemnities has moved 14 percent, 21 percent, 32 percent, 33 percent across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, and 2020-2025. Census land value is $11,769 per acre, up 5.3 percent from 2017 to 2022.

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: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IN median $8,158 · 2nd highest of 89
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
173.2 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 180.0 · irrigated and dryland combined
IN median 178.1 · tied for 30th lowest of 76
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

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; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$230/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+43.8%nominal, $160 to $230
Irrigated, 2026$307/ac
Pasture, 2026$43/ac

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 value— about 20% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024141.0200.4179.3median 173.2

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

Median, 2008–2024173.2 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2020–2024180.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 92.5 bu/ac53% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+2.7 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

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 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$2.15
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.36claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.55$25.2 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 21
Worst year2012ratio 3.53
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025area plans 36% · heat and drought 29% · other 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

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 years, 2021–20256 weeks
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 September23.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 94% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

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
198619911996200120062011201620218808342

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

CRP enrolled, 2025342 ac0.2% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202898 ac29% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$224/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20251.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202247,166−20.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims 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. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Elkhart 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/elkhart-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.