Farmland Atlas · county record

Cass County, Michigan

Cass County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $126 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,984 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 158.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26027. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Cass County runs $126 per acre in 2026, up 9.6 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent is $280 per acre, and the irrigated multiple has fallen from 2.69 in 2009 to 2.22 in 2026. Corn yield has no trend across 2008-2025, with a median of 158.8 bushels per acre and a worst year of 138.4 in 2012. Heat and drought caused 36 percent of indemnities over 1989-2025, and census land value sits at $5,984 per acre, up 29.5 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$126/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 28th highest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$280/ac
2026 county average
MI median $241 · 4th highest of 18
Land and buildings
$5,984/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 26th highest of 76
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
158.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 162.0 · irrigated and dryland combined
MI median 153.0 · 16th highest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.83
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 12th lowest of 62
Farmland rented
34%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 37th lowest of 78

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$3002010201520202025$70$126 dry$219$280 irrigated

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$126/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+9.6%nominal, $115 to $126
Irrigated, 2026$280/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,984/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,960/ac
Census 2017$4,622/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+29.5%+5.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 47% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024148.0172.0155.2median 158.8

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

Median, 2008–2025158.8 bu/ac18 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–2025162.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 138.4 bu/ac87% of median
Trend, 2008–20250.0 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.961.230.761.00: 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$3.83
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.56claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.56$33.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium2 of 23
Worst year2012ratio 1.23
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 36% · freeze 17% · area plans 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020258140

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, 2000–202540 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200314 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202662.1 °F1991–2020 normal 61.0 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.23 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September23.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.8 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202247%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland2,514 ac
Farmed no-till, 202230% of cropland41,964 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland12,679 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021955,7021,876

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,876 ac1.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028450 ac24% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$111/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record730Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth123 ft
Cattle and calves, 20223,632−30.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202234%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Cass County$126$280$5,984158.8$3.83
Elkhart County, IN$230$307$11,769173.2$2.15
St. Joseph County, IN$196$312$8,309161.9$3.03
Berrien County$125$240$6,476—$9.74
St. Joseph County$131$321$7,367142.7$1.90
Van Buren County$140$236$6,341—$10.18
Median next door$140$307$7,367161.9$3.03

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. Cass 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/cass-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.