Farmland Atlas · county record

Mason County, Michigan

Mason County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $62 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,628 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 145.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26105. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Mason County is $62 per acre for 2026, up 6 percent from 2014. Land value in 2022 was $4,628 per acre, up 48.8 percent from 2017, 8.3 percent a year; cash rent is 1.33 percent of land value. July nights have warmed: 58.8 F for 2017-2026 against a 57.5 F normal for 1991-2020, with a 1976 trend of 0.54 F per decade.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$62/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 19th lowest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$100/ac
2026 county average
MI median $241 · 2nd lowest of 18
Land and buildings
$4,628/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 29th lowest of 76
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
145.6 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 157.9
MI median 153.0 · 16th lowest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.39
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 25th highest of 62
Farmland rented
32%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 32nd lowest of 78

Cash rent

$0$20$40$602010201520202025$40$62 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$62/ac
Change 2014 to 2026+6.0%nominal, $59 to $62
Irrigated, 2026$100/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.39$62 ÷ 157.9 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,628/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,855/ac
Census 2017$3,111/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+48.8%+8.3% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20221.33%$62 ÷ $4,628; cropland 71% of land in farms

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202499.0166.8156.6median 145.6

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

Median, 2008–2025145.6 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025157.9 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 99.0 bu/ac68% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.6 bu/ac a year±1.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20132018202320250.621.010.811.00: 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$7.39
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.70$19.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium1 of 13
Worst year2023ratio 1.01
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025freeze 39% · excess moisture 25% · heat and drought 22%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025070

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, 2000–202514 of 1,357 weeks1% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks20237 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.8 °F1991–2020 normal 57.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.54 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September19.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% 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, 202210%
Drained by tile, 202223% of cropland12,358 ac
Farmed no-till, 202210% of cropland5,310 ac
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland5,816 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101,079310

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

CRP enrolled, 2025310 ac0.7% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028203 ac66% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$72/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record220Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth92 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 100.8 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20225,651−49.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202232%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mason County$62$100$4,628145.6$7.39
Lake County$50—$4,054——
Manistee County$35$78$4,308—$13.52
Oceana County$106$98 2023$5,348131.7$12.42
Median next door$50$78 1 co.$4,308131.7 1 co.$12.97 2 co.

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. Mason 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/mason-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.