Aurora County, South Dakota
Aurora County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $139 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,731 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 124.6 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46003. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Aurora County runs $139 per acre for 2026, up 39.7 percent from 2016. Land value under the census stands at $3,731 per acre, up 40.6 percent from 2017 to 2022, 7 percent a year. No harvested cropland was irrigated in the 2022 census, so this is a dryland county. Corn yield has trended up 2 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 124.6 bushels per acre and a worst year of 63.9 in 2012. Heat and drought drove 54 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, rising to 67 percent in the 2020-2025 span. Wind operating capacity stands at 20 MW; solar operating is 0 MW.
SD median $112 · tied for 29th highest of 63
SD median $3,173 · 30th highest of 66
SD median 151.5 · 8th lowest of 33
SD median $11.31 · tied for 32nd highest of 65
SD median 46% · 11th highest of 66
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora County | $139 | $3,731 | 124.6 | $11.31 |
| Brule County | $110 | $3,337 | 132.7 | $11.17 |
| Charles Mix County | $142 | $3,849 | 136.9 | $10.90 |
| Davison County | $153 | $4,642 | — | $9.77 |
| Douglas County | $143 | $4,554 | 141.3 | $9.93 |
| Jerauld County | $105 | $2,678 | 127.6 | $11.64 |
| Sanborn County | $138 | $3,808 | — | $14.04 |
| Median next door | $140 | $3,829 | 134.8 | $11.04 |
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. Aurora County, South Dakota. 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/south-dakota/aurora-countyEvery 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.