Farmland Atlas · county record

Sanilac County, Michigan

Sanilac County, MI: non-irrigated cash rent $157 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,380 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 173.8 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 26151. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Sanilac County averages $157 per acre in 2026, up 31.9 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings was $6,380 per acre in 2022, up 29.4 percent from 2017, or 5.3 percent a year. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $102.5 million, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 49 percent. Heat and drought's share of indemnities was 15 percent in 1989-1999, 28 percent in 2000-2009, 19 percent in 2010-2019, and 34 percent in 2020-2025. July nightly lows have warmed 0.63 F per decade since 1976, and irrigation covers 0 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census. Wind capacity operating is 122 MW; solar operating is 0 MW, with 539 MW solar proposed to EIA.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$157/ac
2026 county average
MI median $100 · 11th highest of 70
Cash rent, irrigated
$196/ac
2016 county average
too few 2016 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$6,380/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
MI median $5,270 · 20th highest of 76
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
173.8 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 195.1
MI median 153.0 · 2nd highest of 45
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$3.69
2016–2025, closed crop years
MI median $5.92 · 9th lowest of 62
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
MI median 34% · 29th highest of 78

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$66$157 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$157/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+31.9%nominal, $119 to $157
Irrigated, 2016$196/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.80$157 ÷ 195.1 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,380/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,386/ac
Census 2017$4,930/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+29.4%+5.3% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024171.0212.0201.0median 173.8

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

Median, 2008–2025173.8 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025195.1 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 153.9 bu/ac89% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.2 bu/ac a year±1.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020250.412.000.511.00: 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$3.69
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.59claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.51$102.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 31
Worst year1996ratio 2.00
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 49% · heat and drought 26% · freeze 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025050

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, 2000–20258 of 1,357 weeks1% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks20125 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20253 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.7 °F1991–2020 normal 59.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.63 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September19.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% 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, 20220%
Drained by tile, 202263% of cropland271,472 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland67,261 ac
Cover crops, 202214% of cropland59,209 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202194424,8473,336

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

CRP enrolled, 20253,336 ac0.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,275 ac38% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$146/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record148Michigan EGLE Wellogic water well records
Median well depth130 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 122 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202266,576−17.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Sanilac County$157$6,380173.8$3.69
Huron County$239$7,652174.8$2.24
Lapeer County$99$6,513161.4$6.82
St. Clair County$94$5,814159.9$10.51
Tuscola County$222$6,465172.0$3.41
Median next door$160$6,489166.7$5.12

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. Sanilac 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/sanilac-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.