Farmland Atlas · county record

Barry County, Michigan

Barry County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $129 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,027 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 153.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Barry County runs $129 per acre in 2026, up 18.3 percent from 2016. Land value under the census sits at $6,027 per acre, up 25.5 percent from 2017 to 2022, 4.7 percent a year. Corn yield trend is 2.4 bushels per acre a year on a median of 153 bushels per acre, with a worst year of 121 in 2012. Heat and drought accounts for 39 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, and that share moved 44 percent, 35 percent, 37 percent, 47 percent across the four measured periods. Drought weeks stayed low overall, 21 of 1357 weeks at 1.5 percent, but 2021-2025 alone carried 9 of those weeks. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with none proposed.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$129/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 25th highest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$228/ac
2023 county average
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,027/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 25th highest of 76
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
153.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 174.7
MI median 153.0 · 23rd lowest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.27
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 16th lowest of 62
Farmland rented
40%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 24th highest of 78

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$77$129 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$129/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+18.3%nominal, $109 to $129
Irrigated, 2023$228/ac
Pasture, 2026$30/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.74$129 ÷ 174.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,027/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,980/ac
Census 2017$4,801/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+25.5%+4.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.91%$115 ÷ $6,027; cropland 74% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024131.0206.0173.3median 153.0

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025153.0 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025174.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 121.0 bu/ac79% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±1.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20072012201720221.392.530.081.00: claims equal premium

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$4.27
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.50claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.57$30.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 19
Worst year2019ratio 2.53
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 39% · excess moisture 35% · area plans 10%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025050

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, 2000–202521 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks20215 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20259 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.6 °F1991–2020 normal 59.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.34 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September22.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20225%
Drained by tile, 202218% of cropland19,686 ac
Farmed no-till, 202225% of cropland26,677 ac
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland11,975 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202191218,5812,381

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,381 ac2.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028646 ac27% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$120/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record339Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth95 ft
Cattle and calves, 202237,045−9.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202240%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Barry County$129$228 2023$6,027153.0$4.27
Allegan County$155$292 2023$6,684160.8$4.97
Calhoun County$132$242 2024$5,072144.4$5.41
Eaton County$123—$5,160163.2$6.15
Ionia County$196$235$6,594164.1$3.78
Kalamazoo County$128$325$6,660—$2.84
Kent County$145$247$7,869156.5$10.96
Median next door$139$247$6,627160.8$5.19

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. Barry 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/barry-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.