Counties in South Dakota by land in farms

Meade County had the highest land in farms of 66 counties in 2012, at 2,032,553 acres. Lawrence County had the lowest, at 158,746 acres. The median was 554,074 acres and the figure for South Dakota was 43,257,079 acres. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest2,032,553Meade County
Lowest158,746Lawrence County
Median554,07466 counties
South Dakota43,257,079History

Map of counties, 2012

Aurora County: 442,007 acresBeadle County: 793,756 acresBennett County: 606,496 acresBon Homme County: 351,596 acresBrookings County: 449,020 acresBrown County: 1,078,794 acresBrule County: 513,888 acresBuffalo County: 296,175 acresButte County: 1,134,603 acresCampbell County: 360,341 acresCharles Mix County: 692,319 acresClark County: 608,805 acresClay County: 258,692 acresCodington County: 369,235 acresCorson County: 1,242,269 acresCuster County: 623,206 acresDavison County: 275,291 acresDay County: 570,125 acresDeuel County: 341,853 acresDewey County: 1,181,719 acresDouglas County: 269,738 acresEdmunds County: 696,981 acresFall River County: 1,088,818 acresFaulk County: 615,620 acresGrant County: 428,624 acresGregory County: 634,932 acresHaakon County: 1,133,464 acresHamlin County: 311,102 acresHand County: 905,141 acresHanson County: 274,069 acresHarding County: 1,467,327 acresHughes County: 430,930 acresHutchinson County: 513,352 acresHyde County: 514,618 acresJackson County: 1,157,939 acresJerauld County: 332,835 acresJones County: 612,384 acresKingsbury County: 521,142 acresLake County: 261,757 acresLawrence County: 158,746 acresLincoln County: 365,530 acresLyman County: 1,028,579 acresMcCook County: 362,890 acresMcPherson County: 572,789 acresMarshall County: 532,218 acresMeade County: 2,032,553 acresMellette County: 698,784 acresMiner County: 357,311 acresMinnehaha County: 407,896 acresMoody County: 254,391 acresOglala Lakota County: 1,101,176 acresPennington County: 1,074,103 acresPerkins County: 1,630,875 acresPotter County: 538,023 acresRoberts County: 623,105 acresSanborn County: 360,237 acresSpink County: 945,045 acresStanley County: 791,140 acresSully County: 628,233 acresTodd County: 859,955 acresTripp County: 1,018,904 acresTurner County: 384,377 acresUnion County: 288,491 acresWalworth County: 444,739 acresYankton County: 327,796 acresZiebach County: 1,108,230 acres
  • Under 330K
  • 330K to 420K
  • 420K to 550K
  • 550K to 690K
  • 690K to 1.1M
  • 1.1M and over
acres, 2012. 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, 2012

Meade County: 2,032,553 acresMeade County2,032,553Perkins County: 1,630,875 acresPerkins County1,630,875Harding County: 1,467,327 acresHarding County1,467,327Corson County: 1,242,269 acresCorson County1,242,269Dewey County: 1,181,719 acresDewey County1,181,719Jackson County: 1,157,939 acresJackson County1,157,939Butte County: 1,134,603 acresButte County1,134,603Haakon County: 1,133,464 acresHaakon County1,133,464Ziebach County: 1,108,230 acresZiebach County1,108,230Oglala Lakota County: 1,101,176 acresOglala Lakota County1,101,176Fall River County: 1,088,818 acresFall River County1,088,818Brown County: 1,078,794 acresBrown County1,078,794Pennington County: 1,074,103 acresPennington County1,074,103Lyman County: 1,028,579 acresLyman County1,028,579Tripp County: 1,018,904 acresTripp County1,018,904Spink County: 945,045 acresSpink County945,045Hand County: 905,141 acresHand County905,141Todd County: 859,955 acresTodd County859,955Beadle County: 793,756 acresBeadle County793,756Stanley County: 791,140 acresStanley County791,140Mellette County: 698,784 acresMellette County698,784Edmunds County: 696,981 acresEdmunds County696,981Charles Mix County: 692,319 acresCharles Mix County692,319Gregory County: 634,932 acresGregory County634,932Sully County: 628,233 acresSully County628,233Custer County: 623,206 acresCuster County623,206Roberts County: 623,105 acresRoberts County623,105Faulk County: 615,620 acresFaulk County615,620Jones County: 612,384 acresJones County612,384Clark County: 608,805 acresClark County608,805Bennett County: 606,496 acresBennett County606,496McPherson County: 572,789 acresMcPherson County572,789Day County: 570,125 acresDay County570,125Potter County: 538,023 acresPotter County538,023Marshall County: 532,218 acresMarshall County532,218Kingsbury County: 521,142 acresKingsbury County521,142Hyde County: 514,618 acresHyde County514,618Brule County: 513,888 acresBrule County513,888Hutchinson County: 513,352 acresHutchinson County513,352Brookings County: 449,020 acresBrookings County449,020Meade County: 2,032,553 acresMeade County2,032,553Perkins County: 1,630,875 acresPerkins County1,630,875Harding County: 1,467,327 acresHarding County1,467,327Corson County: 1,242,269 acresCorson County1,242,269Dewey County: 1,181,719 acresDewey County1,181,719Jackson County: 1,157,939 acresJackson County1,157,939Butte County: 1,134,603 acresButte County1,134,603Haakon County: 1,133,464 acresHaakon County1,133,464Ziebach County: 1,108,230 acresZiebach County1,108,230Oglala Lakota County: 1,101,176 acresOglala Lakota County1,101,176Fall River County: 1,088,818 acresFall River County1,088,818Brown County: 1,078,794 acresBrown County1,078,794Pennington County: 1,074,103 acresPennington County1,074,103Lyman County: 1,028,579 acresLyman County1,028,579Tripp County: 1,018,904 acresTripp County1,018,904Spink County: 945,045 acresSpink County945,045Hand County: 905,141 acresHand County905,141Todd County: 859,955 acresTodd County859,955Beadle County: 793,756 acresBeadle County793,756Stanley County: 791,140 acresStanley County791,140Mellette County: 698,784 acresMellette County698,784Edmunds County: 696,981 acresEdmunds County696,981Charles Mix County: 692,319 acresCharles Mix County692,319Gregory County: 634,932 acresGregory County634,932Sully County: 628,233 acresSully County628,233Custer County: 623,206 acresCuster County623,206Roberts County: 623,105 acresRoberts County623,105Faulk County: 615,620 acresFaulk County615,620Jones County: 612,384 acresJones County612,384Clark County: 608,805 acresClark County608,805Bennett County: 606,496 acresBennett County606,496McPherson County: 572,789 acresMcPherson County572,789Day County: 570,125 acresDay County570,125Potter County: 538,023 acresPotter County538,023Marshall County: 532,218 acresMarshall County532,218Kingsbury County: 521,142 acresKingsbury County521,142Hyde County: 514,618 acresHyde County514,618Brule County: 513,888 acresBrule County513,888Hutchinson County: 513,352 acresHutchinson County513,352Brookings County: 449,020 acresBrookings County449,020
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

RankCounties2012
acres
1Meade County2,032,553
2Perkins County1,630,875
3Harding County1,467,327
4Corson County1,242,269
5Dewey County1,181,719
6Jackson County1,157,939
7Butte County1,134,603
8Haakon County1,133,464
9Ziebach County1,108,230
10Oglala Lakota County1,101,176
11Fall River County1,088,818
12Brown County1,078,794
13Pennington County1,074,103
14Lyman County1,028,579
15Tripp County1,018,904
16Spink County945,045
17Hand County905,141
18Todd County859,955
19Beadle County793,756
20Stanley County791,140
21Mellette County698,784
22Edmunds County696,981
23Charles Mix County692,319
24Gregory County634,932
25Sully County628,233
26Custer County623,206
27Roberts County623,105
28Faulk County615,620
29Jones County612,384
30Clark County608,805
31Bennett County606,496
32McPherson County572,789
33Day County570,125
34Potter County538,023
35Marshall County532,218
36Kingsbury County521,142
37Hyde County514,618
38Brule County513,888
39Hutchinson County513,352
40Brookings County449,020
41Walworth County444,739
42Aurora County442,007
43Hughes County430,930
44Grant County428,624
45Minnehaha County407,896
46Turner County384,377
47Codington County369,235
48Lincoln County365,530
49McCook County362,890
50Campbell County360,341
51Sanborn County360,237
52Miner County357,311
53Bon Homme County351,596
54Deuel County341,853
55Jerauld County332,835
56Yankton County327,796
57Hamlin County311,102
58Buffalo County296,175
59Union County288,491
60Davison County275,291
61Hanson County274,069
62Douglas County269,738
63Lake County261,757
64Clay County258,692
65Moody County254,391
66Lawrence County158,746

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, 2012) [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, 2012. 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=2012. 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, 2012. 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=2012.

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, 2012 [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=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_south_dakota_2012,
  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, 2012}},
  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=2012. 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, 2012
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=2012
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=2012.
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 2,032,553 acres in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest land in farms?

Lawrence County, with 158,746 acres in 2012.

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