ST. LOUIS, MO. – County yield data released May 5 by the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) shows yield averages in the main Corn Belt region of the Midwest were once again above the national average in 2025. Corn and soybean yields tended to be below the record 2025 average national yield of 186.5 and 53 bushels per acre, respectively, in other areas.

“Corn yields were above the national average in eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and western Ohio. The highest yields were in Illinois, with a cluster of particularly high yield counties in central Illinois,” reported the University of Illinois farmdocDAILY team in a May 12 article, “2025 NASS County Corn, Soybean, and Winter Wheat Yields.” (Paulson, N., G. Schnitkey, C. Zulauf and H. Monaco.)

“(Corn) yields were also above average in most counties in the southern parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Corn yields below the national average occurred in most counties with reported yield estimates in the Dakotas, western Nebraska, eastern Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Most counties in the southeastern and northeastern U.S. also had corn yields below the national average in 2025.”

Soybean yields also exceeded the U.S. national average across the Midwest from eastern Nebraska into western Ohio. The southern regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi also bested the national average. “Soybean yields were over 70 bushels in central Illinois and in central Nebraska. Soybean yields were below the U.S. average yield in most other regions where county estimates were reported,” the farmdocDAILY economists observed.

NASS data shows that county corn yield estimates for Illinois in 2025 averaged 214 bushels per acre, soybeans 62.5 bushels, and wheat, 88 bushels. Yields above the statewide average were common in the northern two-thirds of the state, with yields below the statewide average in southern Illinois.

For corn, yields exceeded 240 bushels per acre in Stark, McLean and DeKalb counties in central and northern Illinois. For soybeans, yields exceeded 73 bushels per acre in Stark, Marshall, Tazewell, McLean and Macon counties. Corn and soybean yield estimates were well below the state average in most southern Illinois counties, according to farmdocDAILY.

Though NASS county estimates for crops grown since 2022 can be difficult to locate online, the Illinois Farm Bureau’s news service reported that the top five counties for corn yield in Illinois were Stark (253.6 bushels per acre), DeKalb (244.4), McLean (243.1), Marshall (239.9) and Carroll (239.2). Stark, DeKalb and McLean ranked third, sixth and seventh nationally. Forty of just 64 reporting counties (out of 102 in Illinois) reached an average corn yield of 200 bushels per acre or higher.

McLean County led the state and nation in corn production at 77.3 million bushels, followed by Livingston (62.9 million), LaSalle (61.3 million), Bureau (56.5 million) and Lee (56.2 million) counties. The counties ranked fourth, sixth, ninth and 10th nationwide, respectively.

Tazewell County led both the state and nation for soybean yield with an average 76.3 bushels per acre. Of 62 reporting Illinois counties (out of 102 total counties), 16 counties had an average soybean yield of 70 bushels per acre or higher.

“It was the largest corn crop ever for Illinois at 2.35 billion bushels and Illinois was second in the nation, just behind Iowa. For soybeans, it was the sixth-largest crop for Illinois at 63.9 million bushels and it was No. 1 in the nation,” noted Brad Summa, NASS Heartland Regional Field Office statistician.

Along with other data, NASS’ final county yields are used by the USDA Farm Service Agency to calculate crop insurance payments. The Illinois Farm Bureau news service, FarmWeek, offered a link to view a spreadsheet with all the county corn and soybean yield and production estimates reported for 2025: quickstats.nass.usda.gov.