Farmland Atlas · county record

Buffalo County, South Dakota

Buffalo County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $75 an acre (2025); land and buildings $1,941 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46017. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Buffalo County runs $75 per acre in 2025, up 16.3 percent from 2014. Land value sits at $1,941 per acre as of the 2022 census, up 25.6 percent from 2017, or 4.7 percent a year. July nights average 61.3 F for 2017-2026 against a 60.8 F normal for 1991-2020, with no clear trend since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated

$75/ac

2025 county average
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare

Land and buildings

$1,941/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SD median $3,173 · 19th lowest of 66

Rent as % of land value

—

not shown: about 12% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield, median

—

fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

$12.20

2016–2025, closed crop years
SD median $11.31 · 26th highest of 65

Farmland rented

52%

2022 census, rented from others
SD median 46% · 15th 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.

Non-irrigated, 2025$75/ac

Change 2014 to 2025+16.3%nominal, $65 to $75

Pasture, 2026$42/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,941/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$1,182/ac

Census 2017$1,545/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+25.6%+4.7% a year, nominal

Dry rent ÷ census value— about 12% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$12.20

Loss ratio, 2016–20250.62claims ÷ total premium

Loss ratio, 1989–20250.73$60.2 million paid

Years claims exceeded premium3 of 22

Worst year2006ratio 2.64

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 71% · excess moisture 10% · freeze 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

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, 2000–2025136 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks201223 weeks

Last five years, 2021–202526 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.3 °F1991–2020 normal 60.8 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.12 °F a decadeno clear direction

Rain, April to September17.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 100% of it

Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202212%

Drained by tile, 2022none reported

Farmed no-till, 202267% of cropland60,643 ac

Cover crops, 20223% of cropland3,023 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20254,343 ac5.3% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2026–2028268 ac6% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$46/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Cattle and calves, 202231,342−5.0% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202252%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Land value	Corn yield	Claims per $100
Buffalo County	$75 2025	$1,941	—	$12.20
Brule County	$110	$3,337	132.7	$11.17
Hand County	$108	$2,875	135.0	$7.74
Hyde County	$92	$2,117	—	$10.12
Jerauld County	$105	$2,678	127.6	$11.64
Lyman County	$102	$1,967	105.0	$11.86
Median next door	$105	$2,678	130.2	$11.17

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. Buffalo 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/buffalo-county

Every 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.

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