Farmland Atlas · county record

Lake County, Michigan

Lake County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $50 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,054 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 125.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26085. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Lake County runs $50 per acre. The census value of land and buildings in 2022 stood at $4,054 per acre, up 64.7 percent over 2017-2022, or 10.5 percent a year. Corn yields held a median of 125 bushels per acre over 2009-2025, with a trend of 0.5 bushels per acre a year and a worst year of 100 in 2013. Drought was rare: 11 of 1357 weeks fell into severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, all in 2003, with zero weeks from 2021-2025. Heat and drought's share of indemnities rose from 30 percent in 2010-2019 to 70 percent in 2020-2025. Solar and wind operating capacity are both 0 MW, with none proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$50/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 14th lowest of 70
Land and buildings
$4,054/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 22nd lowest of 76
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
Corn yield, 2009–2025 median
125.0 bu/ac
11 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
15%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 5th lowest of 78

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60202120222023202420252026$49$50 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$50/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,054/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,598/ac
Census 2017$2,462/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+64.7%+10.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

200920112013201520172019202120232025119.0143.8138.5122.9100.0125.0115.0130.8106.4157.9126.9median 125.0

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

Median, 2009–2025125.0 bu/ac11 published years
Lowest published year2013: 100.0 bu/ac80% of median
Trend, 2009–2025+0.5 bu/ac a year±2.5 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

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.

Loss ratio, 1989–20250.82$827,512 paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 39% · excess moisture 35% · price decline (revenue policies) 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250110

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, 2000–202511 of 1,357 weeks1% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200311 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202657.3 °F1991–2020 normal 56.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.49 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September19.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.2 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, 20226% of cropland442 ac
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland108 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland243 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202161,2550

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Irrigation wells on record66Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth89 ft
Cattle and calves, 20221,114−40.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202215%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Lake County$50—$4,054——
Manistee County$35$78$4,308—$13.52
Mason County$62$100$4,628145.6$7.39
Newaygo County$94$130$5,405138.2$6.19
Osceola County$79—$3,515—$7.21
Wexford County$56—$3,918—$3.79
Median next door$62$100$4,308141.9 2 co.$7.21

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. Lake 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/lake-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.