Top South Dakota Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
Download South Dakota Census of Ag Infographic PDF
As the state’s leading industry, South Dakota agriculture is a major contributor to the state economy. According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, there are 28,299 farms in South Dakota with a market value of agricultural products sold totaling more than $12.9 billion. (The 2022 Census of Agriculture data was released in February 2024 and is the most recent census data available.)
The number of farms in South Dakota has decreased by 6% since 2017 and by 11% since 2002. However, there are still more than 42 million acres of farm land in South Dakota, and the state’s average farm size is 1,495 acres.
The market value of crops grown in South Dakota, including nursery and greenhouse crops, totaled nearly $7.7 billion in 2022. The market value of livestock, poultry and their products, including beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, came to more than $5.2 billion.
What Are South Dakota’s Top Agricultural Products?
According to the most recent available cash receipts (the total amount of crops or livestock sold in a calendar year), South Dakota’s top agricultural products include corn, cattle and calves, soybeans, milk and other dairy products, hogs, and wheat, to name a few.
See More: South Dakota Agriculture
Who Owns South Dakota Farms?
The Census of Agriculture calculates farm ownership by the farm’s legal status for tax purposes. Like many states, South Dakota farms are primarily owned and operated by families or individuals, with 22,903 family farms as of 2022, or about 81% of all farms in the state. Partnerships account for 2,400 farms, or 8.5%, while corporations own just over 2,000 farms, or 8%. Other farms, such as estates or trusts, prison farms, grazing associations, American Indian Reservations, etc., make up about 2.6% of farms in South Dakota.
South Dakota farmers are predominantly men. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 35,161 male farmers in South Dakota in 2022, making up 69% of the state’s total producers. South Dakota’s 15,910 women farmers accounted for 31% of the total.
See More: What’s In Season? South Dakota Produce Calendar
How Old Are South Dakota Farmers?
Out of 51,071 farmers in South Dakota, most are over the age of 55. In fact, the average age of a South Dakota farmer is 57.2 years old, up from 56.2 years in 2017.
Just over a quarter of South Dakota farmers (around 25.1%) fall into the age group of 55 to 64 years, and 24.7% of farmers are ages 65 to 74. Farmers ranging from 45 to 54 years old account for 14.7%, followed by farmers ages 35 to 44 (13%), then farmers aged 75 or older (11.9%). Only 8.9% of farmers are ages 25 to 34, and just 858 South Dakota farmers are under 25, or about 1.7%.
See More: South Dakota’s Top 10 Ag Products
More South Dakota Farm Facts
Though the state counts more than 51,000 agricultural producers, 53% of South Dakota farmers have a primary occupation other than farming. Only about 24,000 respondents to the Census of Agriculture said their primary occupation was farming.
Active duty military members and veterans also account for some farmers, as South Dakota has 4,220 farmers with current or past military service.
South Dakota is home to 1,945 farms using renewable energy-producing systems.
South Dakota inventoried 3,478,908 cattle and calves and 41,761 horses and ponies in 2022.
The state counted 12,667 new and beginning producers in 2022, up from 10,167 in 2017.
South Dakota is home to 43,863 colonies of honeybees. Beekeepers across the state collected nearly 7.8 million pounds of honey in 2022.
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