Indiana farmland by county
Shelby County, Indiana Farmland
What farmland rents for, what it grows, and what else the data says about Shelby County, Indiana, from USDA NASS and other federal sources, with the source and year on every figure. Then read your exact parcel free.
Shelby County at a glance
These figures are computed from the federal data for Shelby County specifically, not a statewide average dressed up as local.
- Shelby County's USDA NASS 2026 county average cash rent, USD 249/ac, ranks 17th of the 89 Indiana counties USDA NASS reported that year.
- That is about 8.3% above the Indiana statewide average of USD 230/ac for 2026.
- The county figure is up USD 13/ac (5.5%) from USD 236/ac in 2025.
- In 2025, soybeans led Shelby County's reported field crops at 103,300 harvested acres.
- Its 103,300 acres of soybeans are the 6th most of any Indiana county in the NASS crop dataset.
- That year soybeans outsized corn, 103,300 to 78,500 harvested acres.
Shelby 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 Shelby 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | USD 249/ac | Shelby County (NASS) |
| 2025 | USD 236/ac | Shelby County (NASS) |
| 2024 | USD 235/ac | Shelby County (NASS) |
| 2023 | USD 216/ac | Shelby County (NASS) |
| 2022 | USD 215/ac | Shelby County (NASS) |
| 2026 | USD 230/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 Shelby County figure.
What Shelby County grows
Ranked by harvested acres in the latest USDA NASS county survey, here are the field crops NASS separately reports for Shelby 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 | 103,300 | 2025 |
| Corn | 78,500 | 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 Shelby County
Not available now: new CRP enrollment is paused until Congress extends the farm bill (USDA FSA, Sept 25, 2026). CRP contracts FSA approved by Sept 30, 2026 keep receiving their annual rental and other contract payments (USDA FSA Notice CRP-1101). See how CRP works for how signup worked, and the CRP payment rates guide for the last rates FSA published, kept as dated history.
Energy interest in Shelby County
Shelby County shows 1 active or pending electric-interconnection request 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.
Shelby County farmland: frequently asked questions
- What is the average cash rent in Shelby County, Indiana?
- USDA NASS reported an average cash rent of USD 249/ac for non-irrigated cropland in Shelby County in 2026. 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 Shelby County?
- By harvested acres in the latest USDA NASS county data, soybeans, corn are Shelby 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.
- Can Shelby County land be enrolled in CRP now?
- Not available now: new CRP enrollment is paused until Congress extends the farm bill (USDA FSA, Sept 25, 2026). CRP contracts FSA approved by Sept 30, 2026 keep receiving their annual rental and other contract payments (USDA FSA Notice CRP-1101). See the AgriTerra CRP guide for how signup worked and the last rates FSA published.
Own ground in Shelby County that someone else farms? The Landlord Plan sends you a rent letter every August, first in January 2027 →
Read a Shelby 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.