Farmland Atlas · county record

Manistee County, Michigan

Manistee County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $35 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,308 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 120.4 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26101. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Manistee County runs $35 per acre in 2026, up 25 percent from 2016. Irrigated ground rents higher, at $78 per acre, though only 16 percent of harvested cropland carries irrigation, and 68 percent of that water comes from groundwater. Corn yield has trended up 1.5 bushels per acre a year on published years 2009-2024, with a median of 120.4 bushels per acre against a worst year of 83.4 in 2012. Crop insurance history over 1989-2025 points to freeze and frost, not heat, as the dominant cause of loss, at 72 percent of indemnities. Drought weeks were low county-wide from 2000-2025 at 3.1 percent, with 2021-2025 holding 31 weeks. Solar and wind capacity here stand at 0 MW, operating and proposed alike.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$35/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 9th lowest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$78/ac
2026 county average
MI median $241 · lowest of 18
Land and buildings
$4,308/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 25th lowest of 76
Corn yield, 2009–2024 median
120.4 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 128.6 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$13.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 6th highest of 62
Farmland rented
26%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 25th lowest of 78

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$22$35 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$35/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+25.0%nominal, $28 to $35
Irrigated, 2026$78/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,308/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,875/ac
Census 2017$2,884/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+49.4%+8.4% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 16% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20092011201320152017201920212023117.0140.5129.7median 120.4

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

Median, 2009–2024120.4 bu/ac13 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2020–2024128.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 83.4 bu/ac69% of median
Trend, 2009–2024+1.5 bu/ac a year±2.3 (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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$13.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.01claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.26$6.9 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 72% · heat and drought 13% · excess moisture 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250127

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, 2000–202542 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202412 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202531 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.7 °F1991–2020 normal 57.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.69 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September19.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 101% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202216%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland198 ac
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland775 ac
Cover crops, 202210% of cropland1,984 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021471240

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Irrigation wells on record142Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth168 ft
Cattle and calves, 20222,608+94.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202226%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Manistee County$35$78$4,308—$13.52
Benzie County$81—$6,283—$6.78
Lake County$50—$4,054——
Mason County$62$100$4,628145.6$7.39
Wexford County$56—$3,918—$3.79
Median next door$59$100 1 co.$4,341145.6 1 co.$6.78

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. Manistee 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/manistee-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.