Indiana farmland by county
De Kalb County, Indiana Farmland
What farmland rents for, what it grows, and what else the data says about De Kalb County, Indiana, from USDA NASS and other federal sources, with the source and year on every figure. Then read your exact parcel free.
De Kalb County at a glance
These figures are computed from the federal data for De Kalb County specifically, not a statewide average dressed up as local.
- De Kalb County's latest reported cash rent, USD 152/ac in 2025, ranks 81st of the 90 Indiana counties USDA NASS reported that year.
- That is about 32.4% below the Indiana statewide average of USD 225/ac for 2025.
- The county figure is up USD 5/ac (3.4%) from USD 147/ac in 2024.
- In 2025, soybeans led De Kalb County's reported field crops at 70,200 harvested acres.
- Its 70,200 acres of soybeans are the 35th most of any Indiana county in the NASS crop dataset.
- That year soybeans outsized corn, 70,200 to 44,300 harvested acres.
De Kalb County cash rent
USDA NASS reports county cash rent for non-irrigated cropland as a county average, refreshed on the annual USDA cycle. The table shows every year NASS reported for De Kalb County, with the Indiana statewide average included as a clearly labeled context row (a state average is never a substitute for the county figure, and neither is a substitute for a parcel-level read).
| Year | Cash rent | Data level |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | USD 152/ac | De Kalb County (NASS) |
| 2024 | USD 147/ac | De Kalb County (NASS) |
| 2023 | USD 162/ac | De Kalb County (NASS) |
| 2022 | USD 152/ac | De Kalb County (NASS) |
| 2025 | USD 225/ac | Indiana statewide average (context) |
County averages for non-irrigated cropland, not medians. The Indiana statewide average row is labeled as state-level and is not a De Kalb County figure.
What De Kalb County grows
Ranked by harvested acres in the latest USDA NASS county survey, here are the field crops NASS separately reports for De Kalb County. NASS suppresses some county crops, so this is the reported field-crop picture, not the county's entire cropland. Horticulture and specialty crops NASS reports separately are not included.
| Crop | Harvested acres | Survey year |
|---|---|---|
| Soybeans | 70,200 | 2025 |
| Corn | 44,300 | 2025 |
| Wheat | 6,370 | 2025 |
Reported field crops ranked by most-recent NASS harvested acres. Ranked by acreage, not value. NASS can report different survey years for different crops, so each crop carries its own year.
Conservation (CRP) in De Kalb County
Indiana's USDA FSA general CRP signup rental rates run about USD 107/ac to USD 179/ac per acre per year (USD 143/ac midpoint). Those are the state planning band, not what a given De Kalb County parcel will be offered: the binding rate at enrollment is the county soil rental rate FSA sets from the soils on your specific acres. See the CRP payment rates guide for the full state table and how the county rate is derived, and how CRP works for eligibility.
Energy interest in De Kalb County
De Kalb County shows 3 active or pending electric-interconnection requests in the LBNL Queued Up dataset (2026 edition, queue data through December 2025), predominantly solar. A queue request is an early-stage filing, not a built or contracted project, and most queued capacity never reaches operation, so treat it as a signal of developer interest in the area rather than a forecast. Scout weighs transmission distance and the local queue when it models whether a solar or wind lease is realistic for a specific parcel.
For the statewide picture, see Indiana cash rent by county and what crops grow in Indiana. A county page like this is not a plat or a boundary survey; for that distinction see what a plat map is. For how every figure here is sourced, see how we get our numbers, or return to the Indiana farmland hub.
De Kalb County farmland: frequently asked questions
- What is the average cash rent in De Kalb County, Indiana?
- USDA NASS reported an average cash rent of USD 152/ac for non-irrigated cropland in De Kalb County in 2025. That is a county average, not a parcel-specific rate: soil quality, drainage, field size, and lease terms move an individual parcel above or below it. Scout reads the parcel's soils and applies its productivity band around this benchmark.
- What crops grow in De Kalb County?
- By harvested acres in the latest USDA NASS county data, soybeans, corn, wheat are De Kalb County's largest reported field crops. Corn and soybeans are typically grown in rotation on the same ground. See the crop table above for the acreage on each.
- How much does CRP pay in De Kalb County?
- Indiana's USDA FSA general CRP signup rental rates run about USD 107/ac to USD 179/ac per acre per year (USD 143/ac midpoint), from the FSA state summary. The binding rate at enrollment is the county soil rental rate FSA sets from the soils on your specific acres, not the state average. See CRP payment rates for how that works.
Read a De Kalb County parcel, not just the county average.
Start from the county benchmark, then let Scout read the parcel's soils, acreage, flood, wetlands, CRP fit, and energy context, in plain language with the source on every figure, free.