County farm facts

Benzie County, Michigan

Benzie County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $81 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,283 an acre in the 2022 census; corn 14-yr trend 141.8 bu/ac. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26019. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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As of Oct 16, cash rent in Benzie County ran $81 an acre in 2026, under the state median of $99 and 28th lowest of 71. The census value of land and buildings came in at $6,283 an acre in 2022, up 58.6% from $3,961 in 2017. The corn trend sits at 141.8 bu, 10th lowest of 36, against a state median of 161.7 bu.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$81/ac
2026 county average
MI median $99 · 28th lowest of 71
Land and buildings
$6,283/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · MI farm real estate 2026: $7,000 (land and buildings, state survey)
MI median $5,270 · 22nd highest of 76
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.57
$81 ÷ 141.8 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
Corn yield, 14-yr trend (projected 2026)
141.8 bu/ac
all practices trend · 2023 county yield 121.4 · 2019-23 average 130.6 (all practices)
MI median 161.7 · 10th lowest of 36
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.78
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 29th highest of 62
Farmland rented
20%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 12th lowest of 78
Open on the map Compare Michigan cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Michigan cash bids by town · Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Benzie County, Michigan

Drought, year by year

200020052010201520202025044

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, 2000–202515 of 1,357 weeks1% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks2024 (tied with 2007, 2025)4 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–202511 weeks
2026 so far0 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202659.5 °F1991–2020 normal 57.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.83 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September, usual19.0 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 19.4 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeMay 11, Oct 18middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days160middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,231middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,292

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

2008201020122014201620182020202279.0120.0105.0116.791.7121.4median 117.5

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

14-yr trend (projected 2026)141.8 bu/acall practices county yields, 9 years, R² 0.20; the figure rent per bushel uses
2023 county yield121.4 bu/acall practices
2019-23 average130.6 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2023117.5 bu/ac12 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Lowest published year2011: 76.7 bu/ac65% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+3.2 bu/ac a year±2.7 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

Every published Michigan county rate, side by side: Michigan cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$81/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.57$81 ÷ 141.8 bu, 14-yr trend (projected 2026), all practices

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,283/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,169/ac
Census 2017$3,961/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+58.6%+9.7% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census valueNASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
Michigan cropland, 2026 state survey$6,600/ac+3.9% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
Michigan farm real estate, 2026$7,000/acland and buildings, state average
Michigan pasture, 2026$3,200/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the Michigan average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Benzie County.

PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Benzie County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$6.78
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.45claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.71$4.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 82% · heat and drought 8% · price decline (revenue policies) 7%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

19861991199620012006201120162021103219

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

CRP enrolled, 202519 ac
CRP expiring FY2027–202919 ac100% of enrolled acres

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202211%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland11 ac
Farmed no-till, 20228% of cropland629 ac
Cover crops, 20228% of cropland645 ac
Irrigation wells on record97Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth152 ft
Cattle and calves, 2022593−47.8% since 2017
Beef cows, 202284head, Census of Agriculture
Hogs and pigs, 2022142head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202220%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Benzie County, Michigan change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Benzie County$81n/a$6,283n/a$6.78
Grand Traverse County$65n/a$9,197113.2$11.29
Leelanau County$75$252$10,28695.8$16.96
Manistee County$35$78$4,308n/a$13.52
Median next door$65$165 2 co.$9,197104.5 2 co.$13.52

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Benzie County, Michigan. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/michigan/benzie-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).