Farmland Atlas · county record

Gratiot County, Michigan

Gratiot County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $186 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,512 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 163.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26057. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Gratiot County is $186 per acre in 2026, up 31.9 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs higher, at $264 per acre. July nights average 61.3 F for 2017-2026 against a 59.7 F normal. Land value reached $6,512 per acre in 2022, up 19.9 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$186/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 4th highest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$264/ac
2026 county average
MI median $241 · 5th highest of 18
Land and buildings
$6,512/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 17th highest of 76
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
163.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 178.7
MI median 153.0 · 11th highest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.11
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 7th lowest of 62
Farmland rented
54%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 3rd highest of 78

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$100$186 dry$158$264 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$186/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+31.9%nominal, $141 to $186
Irrigated, 2026$264/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$1.04$186 ÷ 178.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,512/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,510/ac
Census 2017$5,432/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+19.9%+3.7% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20222.73%$178 ÷ $6,512; cropland 91% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024138.0199.8193.1median 163.0

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

Median, 2008–2025163.0 bu/ac16 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025178.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 138.0 bu/ac85% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.4 bu/ac a year±1.0 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.222.260.131.00: 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$3.11
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.38claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.51$85.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 31
Worst year2004ratio 2.26
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 34% · heat and drought 26% · area plans 18%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025014

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, 2000–202531 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202514 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202525 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.3 °F1991–2020 normal 59.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.42 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September20.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 97% 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202268% of cropland188,379 ac
Farmed no-till, 202218% of cropland50,634 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland17,000 ac
198619911996200120062011201620218112,3823,350

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,350 ac1.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,270 ac38% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$169/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record252Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth178 ft
Solar and wind operating, 2025180 MW solar · 938 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202259,950+10.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202254%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Gratiot County$186$264$6,512163.0$3.11
Clinton County$171—$6,625—$5.22
Isabella County$135—$4,954147.3$7.40
Midland County$179—$5,538163.3$4.77
Montcalm County$107$241$4,937151.5$2.78
Saginaw County$159—$5,683164.4$4.38
Shiawassee County$148—$6,037152.3$5.60
Median next door$154$241 1 co.$5,611152.3$5.00

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. Gratiot 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/gratiot-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.