Illinois Agriculture Fuels the Economy

Illinois is a prosperous agricultural state at the heart of high yields, bustling manufacturing, and a vast transportation system. These bountiful qualities have made Illinois a top agricultural state.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) released its Study of the Economic Contribution of Corn Farming in the United States for 2025. NCGA’s study showed that American corn farmers had the largest crop in history in 2025, surpassing well beyond the previous record. Within 2025, corn farmers produced 17.02 billion bushels, grown on 98.8 million acres, with a value of $70.1 billion.

Illinois Production

• 2nd ranking nationally in corn production
• 5th ranking nationally in agriculture production
• 11 million acres of corn were harvested in 2025
• 2.35 billion bushels of corn in total production in 2025
• $9.8 billion in corn production
• $51.1 billion annually generated in agriculture production
• 27,449 jobs in the state economy through corn production
• $180 billion in annual processed food output from more than 2,640 manufacturing companies, ranking 1^st in the nation in processed food sales
• #1 county in the nation in overall corn production is McLean County, Illinois, with a 77.3 million bushels of corn
• 27% of corn goes to ethanol production

Illinois Exports

• 3^rd largest agricultural exporting state
• 37% of corn is exported to foreign markets, one of the highest shares among Midwestern states
• $3.85 billion export value in 2025
• $8.04 billion in economic output in 2025
• $11.1 billion in agricultural exports in 2025

U.S. Economic Impact

• 1 out of 10 dollars generated in the state comes from agriculture
• 64.8 million metric tons of U.S. corn exports in the marketing year 2024/2025
• $142 billion in contributions from U.S. corn farmers to the U.S. economy in 2025
• 13.4% of total U.S. corn production came from Illinois in 2025

Illinois farmers don’t just feed the state—they fuel the nation. It’s the result of generations of farmers, workers, and communities working together to drive one of the top agricultural economies in the nation.