About 90% of DeKalb County is farmland and 98% of the farmland is classified as prime by the USDA. Prime farmland is land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food and crops and has the soil quality, growing season and moisture supply needed for growing high yielding crops.
The county’s rich prairie soils are some of the best in the country.
To preserve its 377,512 acres of prime farmland, the county has a solid land-use plan in place with development directed around municipalities.
Sources: USDA, 2017 Census of Agriculture