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Illinois

State Quick Facts

Population
12,812,508

Total State GDP
$945,673,800,000

State Land Area (Acres)
35,532,160

Land in Forest (Acres)
4,873,487

Land in Forest
14%

Land in Farms (Acres)
27,000,000

Land in Farms
76%

Number of Farms
70,900

Average Farm Size (acres)
381

Farm Real Estate Value (per acre) 
$8,900

Agricultural Cash Receipts 
$21,523,225,000

Cash Receipts from Crops 
$18,426,212,000

Cash Receipts from Animals 
$3,097,014,000

Top Ag. Commodities

Corn
$10,443,269,000

Soybeans
$7,014,707,000

Hogs
$1,909,309,000

Cattle and Calves
$680,692,000

Miscellaneous Crops
  $428,742,000

Top Ag. Exports

Soybeans
  $4,064,103,020

Corn
  $2,736,268,360

Feeds and Other Feed Grains
$1,470,387,194

Soybean Meal
$832,675,268

Pork
$552,843,793

Illinois Economic Contribution and Impact Research

In 2021, Illinois generated around $21.5 billion in agricultural cash receipts with the highest valued commodities being corn, soybeans, and hogs. That same year, the value of Illinois’s agricultural production and processing industries represented 3.2 percent of total state GDP. Some of the dollars generated by these industries end up being re-spent within the local economy, bringing additional value to the state through “multiplier effects.” Economic impact and contribution studies measure these effects, which can be broken down into direct, indirect, and induced economic effects.

Websites, reports, fact sheets, and articles related to the economic impacts and contributions of Illinois’ food, fiber, and forest industries can be found below.

Websites:

Information related to Illinois’s food, fiber, and forest industries can be found by visiting the following website(s):

*At present, there is no universally agreed upon standard methodology for producing economic impact or economic contribution reports.  Please exercise caution when viewing and comparing reports as each may vary significantly in terms of source data and analysis and reporting methodology.