Counties in South Dakota by land in farms

Meade County had the highest land in farms of 66 counties in 1997, at 2,011,994 acres. Lawrence County had the lowest, at 172,318 acres. The median was 510,935 acres and the figure for South Dakota was 44,141,892 acres. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest2,011,994Meade County
Lowest172,318Lawrence County
Median510,93566 counties
South Dakota44,141,892History

Map of counties, 1997

Aurora County: 329,433 acresBeadle County: 697,572 acresBennett County: 772,262 acresBon Homme County: 341,680 acresBrookings County: 434,447 acresBrown County: 1,073,969 acresBrule County: 438,204 acresBuffalo County: 298,702 acresButte County: 1,159,789 acresCampbell County: 371,335 acresCharles Mix County: 692,609 acresClark County: 506,511 acresClay County: 295,123 acresCodington County: 395,976 acresCorson County: 1,576,834 acresCuster County: 452,775 acresDavison County: 290,329 acresDay County: 540,957 acresDeuel County: 321,198 acresDewey County: 1,840,988 acresDouglas County: 245,823 acresEdmunds County: 607,674 acresFall River County: 949,424 acresFaulk County: 565,646 acresGrant County: 371,406 acresGregory County: 573,239 acresHaakon County: 1,316,917 acresHamlin County: 287,986 acresHand County: 788,078 acresHanson County: 238,279 acresHarding County: 1,664,977 acresHughes County: 383,146 acresHutchinson County: 496,122 acresHyde County: 519,966 acresJackson County: 1,322,818 acresJerauld County: 333,905 acresJones County: 576,074 acresKingsbury County: 499,829 acresLake County: 326,205 acresLawrence County: 172,318 acresLincoln County: 344,924 acresLyman County: 915,269 acresMcCook County: 331,232 acresMcPherson County: 552,223 acresMarshall County: 496,892 acresMeade County: 2,011,994 acresMellette County: 625,407 acresMiner County: 293,606 acresMinnehaha County: 430,967 acresMoody County: 292,847 acresOglala Lakota County: 1,471,864 acresPennington County: 1,024,512 acresPerkins County: 1,672,797 acresPotter County: 515,359 acresRoberts County: 582,013 acresSanborn County: 339,286 acresSpink County: 870,523 acresStanley County: 875,660 acresSully County: 591,076 acresTodd County: 1,079,624 acresTripp County: 899,661 acresTurner County: 381,606 acresUnion County: 283,279 acresWalworth County: 418,783 acresYankton County: 299,903 acresZiebach County: 1,470,060 acres
  • Under 320K
  • 320K to 380K
  • 380K to 510K
  • 510K to 650K
  • 650K to 1.1M
  • 1.1M and over
acres, 1997. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 1997

Meade County: 2,011,994 acresMeade County2,011,994Dewey County: 1,840,988 acresDewey County1,840,988Perkins County: 1,672,797 acresPerkins County1,672,797Harding County: 1,664,977 acresHarding County1,664,977Corson County: 1,576,834 acresCorson County1,576,834Oglala Lakota County: 1,471,864 acresOglala Lakota County1,471,864Ziebach County: 1,470,060 acresZiebach County1,470,060Jackson County: 1,322,818 acresJackson County1,322,818Haakon County: 1,316,917 acresHaakon County1,316,917Butte County: 1,159,789 acresButte County1,159,789Todd County: 1,079,624 acresTodd County1,079,624Brown County: 1,073,969 acresBrown County1,073,969Pennington County: 1,024,512 acresPennington County1,024,512Fall River County: 949,424 acresFall River County949,424Lyman County: 915,269 acresLyman County915,269Tripp County: 899,661 acresTripp County899,661Stanley County: 875,660 acresStanley County875,660Spink County: 870,523 acresSpink County870,523Hand County: 788,078 acresHand County788,078Bennett County: 772,262 acresBennett County772,262Beadle County: 697,572 acresBeadle County697,572Charles Mix County: 692,609 acresCharles Mix County692,609Mellette County: 625,407 acresMellette County625,407Edmunds County: 607,674 acresEdmunds County607,674Sully County: 591,076 acresSully County591,076Roberts County: 582,013 acresRoberts County582,013Jones County: 576,074 acresJones County576,074Gregory County: 573,239 acresGregory County573,239Faulk County: 565,646 acresFaulk County565,646McPherson County: 552,223 acresMcPherson County552,223Day County: 540,957 acresDay County540,957Hyde County: 519,966 acresHyde County519,966Potter County: 515,359 acresPotter County515,359Clark County: 506,511 acresClark County506,511Kingsbury County: 499,829 acresKingsbury County499,829Marshall County: 496,892 acresMarshall County496,892Hutchinson County: 496,122 acresHutchinson County496,122Custer County: 452,775 acresCuster County452,775Brule County: 438,204 acresBrule County438,204Brookings County: 434,447 acresBrookings County434,447Meade County: 2,011,994 acresMeade County2,011,994Dewey County: 1,840,988 acresDewey County1,840,988Perkins County: 1,672,797 acresPerkins County1,672,797Harding County: 1,664,977 acresHarding County1,664,977Corson County: 1,576,834 acresCorson County1,576,834Oglala Lakota County: 1,471,864 acresOglala Lakota County1,471,864Ziebach County: 1,470,060 acresZiebach County1,470,060Jackson County: 1,322,818 acresJackson County1,322,818Haakon County: 1,316,917 acresHaakon County1,316,917Butte County: 1,159,789 acresButte County1,159,789Todd County: 1,079,624 acresTodd County1,079,624Brown County: 1,073,969 acresBrown County1,073,969Pennington County: 1,024,512 acresPennington County1,024,512Fall River County: 949,424 acresFall River County949,424Lyman County: 915,269 acresLyman County915,269Tripp County: 899,661 acresTripp County899,661Stanley County: 875,660 acresStanley County875,660Spink County: 870,523 acresSpink County870,523Hand County: 788,078 acresHand County788,078Bennett County: 772,262 acresBennett County772,262Beadle County: 697,572 acresBeadle County697,572Charles Mix County: 692,609 acresCharles Mix County692,609Mellette County: 625,407 acresMellette County625,407Edmunds County: 607,674 acresEdmunds County607,674Sully County: 591,076 acresSully County591,076Roberts County: 582,013 acresRoberts County582,013Jones County: 576,074 acresJones County576,074Gregory County: 573,239 acresGregory County573,239Faulk County: 565,646 acresFaulk County565,646McPherson County: 552,223 acresMcPherson County552,223Day County: 540,957 acresDay County540,957Hyde County: 519,966 acresHyde County519,966Potter County: 515,359 acresPotter County515,359Clark County: 506,511 acresClark County506,511Kingsbury County: 499,829 acresKingsbury County499,829Marshall County: 496,892 acresMarshall County496,892Hutchinson County: 496,122 acresHutchinson County496,122Custer County: 452,775 acresCuster County452,775Brule County: 438,204 acresBrule County438,204Brookings County: 434,447 acresBrookings County434,447
acres. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties1997
acres
1Meade County2,011,994
2Dewey County1,840,988
3Perkins County1,672,797
4Harding County1,664,977
5Corson County1,576,834
6Oglala Lakota County1,471,864
7Ziebach County1,470,060
8Jackson County1,322,818
9Haakon County1,316,917
10Butte County1,159,789
11Todd County1,079,624
12Brown County1,073,969
13Pennington County1,024,512
14Fall River County949,424
15Lyman County915,269
16Tripp County899,661
17Stanley County875,660
18Spink County870,523
19Hand County788,078
20Bennett County772,262
21Beadle County697,572
22Charles Mix County692,609
23Mellette County625,407
24Edmunds County607,674
25Sully County591,076
26Roberts County582,013
27Jones County576,074
28Gregory County573,239
29Faulk County565,646
30McPherson County552,223
31Day County540,957
32Hyde County519,966
33Potter County515,359
34Clark County506,511
35Kingsbury County499,829
36Marshall County496,892
37Hutchinson County496,122
38Custer County452,775
39Brule County438,204
40Brookings County434,447
41Minnehaha County430,967
42Walworth County418,783
43Codington County395,976
44Hughes County383,146
45Turner County381,606
46Grant County371,406
47Campbell County371,335
48Lincoln County344,924
49Bon Homme County341,680
50Sanborn County339,286
51Jerauld County333,905
52McCook County331,232
53Aurora County329,433
54Lake County326,205
55Deuel County321,198
56Yankton County299,903
57Buffalo County298,702
58Clay County295,123
59Miner County293,606
60Moody County292,847
61Davison County290,329
62Hamlin County287,986
63Union County283,279
64Douglas County245,823
65Hanson County238,279
66Lawrence County172,318

Other periods

About this ranking

Land operated by farms in the census year, in acres, including cropland, pasture, woodland and land under farm buildings, as counted by the USDA Census of Agriculture every five years.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2026). Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) (Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 1997) [Data set]. Data Commons. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/

MLA 9

Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 1997. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 11 Oct. 2026, https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Data Commons, https://datacommons.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=1997. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 1997. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=1997.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 1997 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_south_dakota_1997,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 1997}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {Data Commons},
  url = {https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=1997. Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
TI  - Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 1997
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=1997.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest land in farms?

Meade County, with 2,011,994 acres in 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest land in farms?

Lawrence County, with 172,318 acres in 1997.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Land in farms: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings