Farmland Atlas · county record

Steuben County, Indiana

Steuben County, IN: non-irrigated cash rent $153 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,158 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 150.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 18151. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Steuben County averages $153 per acre for 2026, up 25.4 percent from 2014. Census land value stood at $8,158 per acre in 2022, up 47.3 percent from 2017, 8.1 percent a year. Corn yield trend runs 4 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 150 bushels per acre and a worst year of 87.4 in 2012. Heat and drought made up 45 percent of indemnities in 1989-1999, fell to 13 percent in 2000-2009 and 10 percent in 2010-2019, then rose to 43 percent in 2020-2025. Drought weeks stayed low overall, 47 of 1357 weeks since 2000, with 12 of those weeks in 2021-2025. Solar and wind capacity: 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$153/ac
2026 county average
IN median $217 · 9th lowest of 89
Cash rent, irrigated
$232/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$8,158/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IN median $8,158 · 45th lowest of 89
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
150.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 179.0
IN median 178.1 · 3rd lowest of 76
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.55
2016–2025, closed crop years
IN median $2.54 · 28th highest of 92
Farmland rented
51%
2022 census, rented from others
IN median 51% · 46th highest of 92

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$89$153 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$153/ac
Change 2014 to 2026+25.4%nominal, $122 to $153
Irrigated, 2022$232/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.85$153 ÷ 179.0 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$8,158/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,486/ac
Census 2017$5,537/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+47.3%+8.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.91%$156 ÷ $8,158; cropland 84% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024114.0191.0168.4median 150.0

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

Median, 2008–2025150.0 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025179.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 87.4 bu/ac58% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.0 bu/ac a year±1.7 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200520102015202020250.063.170.301.00: 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$3.55
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.45claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.74$53.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 21
Worst year2012ratio 3.17
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025area plans 37% · other 26% · heat and drought 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025110

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, 2000–202547 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200311 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202512 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.6 °F1991–2020 normal 60.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.12 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20227%
Drained by tile, 202247% of cropland38,407 ac
Farmed no-till, 202242% of cropland34,515 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland7,596 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202126928,4202,997

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,997 ac3.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028524 ac18% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$136/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 20226,882−40.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202251%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Steuben County$153—$8,158150.0$3.55
DeKalb County$146—$8,646162.1$4.21
LaGrange County$159$274$14,455142.8$1.79
Branch County, MI$133$190$5,315157.9$4.00
Hillsdale County, MI$150$233$5,493156.2$4.53
Williams County, OH$206—$7,565167.3$5.61
Median next door$150$233$7,565157.9$4.21

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. Steuben 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/steuben-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.