County farm facts

Brown County, South Dakota

Brown County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $166 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,295 an acre in the 2022 census. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46013. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

Print County Print
My place (Fast Facts)Email me what changes

Stands out against its own record

$166

Non-irrigated cash rent, 2026: the highest of 16 surveys since 2008; up 20% from $138 in 2016.

USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, 2026

As of Oct 16, cropland in Brown County rented for $166 an acre in 2026, up 20.3% from $138 in 2016 and 17th highest of 63 in South Dakota against a state median of $112. The census value of land and buildings came to $4,295 an acre in 2022, up 27.8% from $3,362 in 2017. Corn made 176.3 bu in 2025, above the 2021-25 average of 168.6 bu. 45% of the farmland was rented in 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$166/ac
2026 county average
SD median $112 · 17th highest of 63
Cash rent, irrigated
$200/ac
2026 county average
SD median $259 · 3rd lowest of 13
Land and buildings
$4,295/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · SD farm real estate 2026: $3,100 (land and buildings, state survey)
SD median $3,173 · 22nd highest of 66
Corn yield, 2021-25 average
168.6 bu/ac
high and low dropped · 2025 county yield 176.3 · rent-per-bushel trend withheld: county yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.29
2016–2025, closed crop years
SD median $11.31 · 32nd lowest of 65
Farmland rented
45%
2022 census, rented from others
SD median 46% · 28th lowest of 66
Open on the map Compare South Dakota cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures
Live cattle futures
Hay, South Dakota price received

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

South Dakota cash bids by town · Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Cash bids by town near the middle of Brown County: Aberdeen (5 mi), Groton (15 mi), Warner (18 mi).

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 4 ethanol plants, 1 oilseed crusher
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Brown County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from Renewable Fuels Association, EIA, NOPA, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Brown County, South Dakota

Drought, year by year

2000200520102015202020250122

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, 2000–202551 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks2021 (tied with 2012)12 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–202521 weeks
2026 so far0 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.8 °F1991–2020 normal 59.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.43 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September, usual16.7 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 16.6 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger3.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Last spring freeze, first fall freezeMay 9, Oct 9middle dates 1996–2025, NOAA county-average daily low of 32 °F or colder
Frost-free days156middle of 1996–2025
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,478middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,570

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024141.0188.8176.3median 154.7

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

Trend for rent per bushelCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres
2025 county yield176.3 bu/acall practices
2021-25 average168.6 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Median, 2008–2025154.7 bu/ac18 published years
Lowest published year2013: 130.5 bu/ac84% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.8 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$76$166 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published South Dakota county rate, side by side: South Dakota cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$166/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+20.3%nominal, $138 to $166
Irrigated, 2026$200/ac
Pasture, 2026$53/ac
Rent as a share of corn grossCounty yield mixes irrigated and dryland acres (2025)

Share of gross is a past year, all observed: that year's rent, that year's county corn yield of the same practice and the state price received, USDA NASS. Rent per bushel is withheld here: it needs the county trend, and the trend is withheld (see the corn yield section). The calculator below takes your own yield and price.

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,295/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,917/ac
Census 2017$3,362/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+27.8%+5.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census valueNASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
South Dakota cropland, 2026 state survey$4,770/ac+3.5% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
South Dakota farm real estate, 2026$3,100/acland and buildings, state average
South Dakota pasture, 2026$1,400/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the South Dakota average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Brown County.

Insuring pasture or hay? PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Brown County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.603.090.451.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. 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$11.29
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.79claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.90$870.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium16 of 37crop years 1989–2025 with a loss ratio
Worst year2010ratio 3.09, of the 37 crop years with at least $1,000,000 of premium
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 69% · heat and drought 14% · hail 5%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

198619911996200120062011201620212,10692,09385,080

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

CRP enrolled, 202585,080 ac11.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2027–202916,193 ac19% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$136/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022under 1%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland12,376 ac
Farmed no-till, 202240% of cropland336,721 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland21,870 ac
Cattle and calves, 202241,937−30.5% since 2017
Cattle on feed, 20228,143head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Brown County, South Dakota change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yield, medianClaims per $100
Brown County$166$200$4,295154.7$11.29
Dickey County, ND$121$199$3,238146.7$13.58
Sargent County, ND$135$177$3,454152.4$9.91
Day County$159n/a$3,549n/a$8.43
Edmunds County$112n/a$3,025n/a$12.47
Faulk County$112n/a$3,320n/a$10.39
Marshall County$153n/a$3,787157.5$12.83
McPherson County$100n/a$2,389117.0$11.51
Spink County$139$179 2025$4,245155.8$7.29
Median next door$128$188 2 co.$3,387152.4$10.95

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a. The corn median here needs 15 published years, so a county with fewer shows n/a even where its own page gives a median.

Not on this page yet

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Brown County, South Dakota. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/south-dakota/brown-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. 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.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses 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. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. 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 missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).