Farmland Atlas · county record

Kent County, Michigan

Kent County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $145 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,869 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 156.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26081. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Kent County stands at $145 per acre in 2026, up 26.1 percent from 2016. Irrigated ground rents at $247 per acre, a multiple of 1.70 over non-irrigated in 2026, against 2.15 in 2009, with no clear direction over that span. Corn yields have trended up 2 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2023, with a median of 156.5 bushels per acre and a worst year of 129.9 in 2012. Crop insurance losses over 1989-2025 total $119.8 million, led by freeze and frost at 59 percent; heat and drought's share of indemnities has run 17 percent, 18 percent, 8 percent, and 7 percent across the four periods on record. Census land value sits at $7,869 per acre, up 6.6 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$145/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 15th highest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$247/ac
2026 county average
MI median $241 · 8th highest of 18
Land and buildings
$7,869/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 6th highest of 76
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
156.5 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 165.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
MI median 153.0 · 19th highest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$10.96
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 11th highest of 62
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 30th highest of 78

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$74$145 dry$177$247 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$145/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+26.1%nominal, $115 to $145
Irrigated, 2026$247/ac
Pasture, 2026$65/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,869/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,858/ac
Census 2017$7,380/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+6.6%+1.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 11% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022134.0178.4median 156.5

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

Median, 2008–2023156.5 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2019–2023165.5 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 129.9 bu/ac83% of median
Trend, 2008–2023+2.0 bu/ac a year±1.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.503.100.611.00: 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$10.96
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.58claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.68$119.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium3 of 23
Worst year2012ratio 3.10
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 59% · hail 18% · heat and drought 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025064

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+ weeks20216 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202510 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.5 °F1991–2020 normal 59.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.43 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 96% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202211%
Drained by tile, 202232% of cropland34,346 ac
Farmed no-till, 202224% of cropland25,431 ac
Cover crops, 20229% of cropland9,786 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021103,940346

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

CRP enrolled, 2025346 ac0.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028208 ac60% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$125/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record1,394Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth112 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20255.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202221,803−8.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Kent County$145$247$7,869156.5$10.96
Allegan County$155$292 2023$6,684160.8$4.97
Barry County$129$228 2023$6,027153.0$4.27
Ionia County$196$235$6,594164.1$3.78
Montcalm County$107$241$4,937151.5$2.78
Muskegon County$111—$5,539138.6$9.66
Newaygo County$94$130$5,405138.2$6.19
Ottawa County$143$250$8,743—$7.33
Median next door$129$238$6,027152.3$4.97

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. Kent 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/kent-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.