Farmland Atlas · county record

Alcona County, Michigan

Alcona County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $45 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,069 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26001. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Alcona County averages $45 per acre in 2026, up 87.5 percent from 2016. No cropland here is irrigated. July nights average 58 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 56.4 F, and the warming trend since 1976 runs 0.72 F per decade. Crop insurance history shows excess moisture and flood as the largest cause of indemnities at 47 percent over 1989-2025, with heat and drought's share moving from 32 percent in 1989-1999 to 17 percent in 2000-2009, 23 percent in 2010-2019, and 27 percent in 2020-2025. Severe drought or worse covered 37 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2003 the worst year at 13 weeks. Census land value stands at $3,069 per acre, up 18.5 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$45/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 13th lowest of 70
Land and buildings
$3,069/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 7th lowest of 76
Rent as % of land value
0.98%
$30 dry rent ÷ $3,069 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$9.84
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 16th highest of 62
Farmland rented
25%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 23rd lowest of 78

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602010201520202025$30$45 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$45/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+87.5%nominal, $24 to $45

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,069/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,421/ac
Census 2017$2,590/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.5%+3.5% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20220.98%$30 ÷ $3,069; cropland 56% of land in farms

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$9.84
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.54claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.76$5.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 47% · heat and drought 23% · freeze 20%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202501312

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–202537 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200313 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202522 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.0 °F1991–2020 normal 56.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.72 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September18.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202210% of cropland2,032 ac
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland1,316 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland1,626 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101,279336

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 2025336 ac2.1% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$16/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record103Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth70 ft
Cattle and calves, 20221,431−56.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202225%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Alcona County$45$3,069—$9.84
Alpena County$55$3,837122.0$5.63
Iosco County$52$3,856—$5.68
Oscoda County$65$3,847——
Median next door$55$3,847122.0 1 co.$5.66 2 co.

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Alcona County, Michigan. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/michigan/alcona-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.