Farmland Atlas · county record

Butte County, South Dakota

Butte County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $40 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,359 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 130.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46019. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Butte County is $40 per acre in 2026, up 19.4 percent from 2016. Land value rose 41.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, 7.2 percent a year.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$40/ac
2026 county average
SD median $112 · tied for 10th lowest of 63
Cash rent, irrigated
$122/ac
2026 county average
SD median $259 · lowest of 13
Land and buildings
$1,359/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SD median $3,173 · 14th lowest of 66
Corn yield, 2008–2023 median
130.5 bu/ac
recent level 2019–2023: 124.6 · irrigated and dryland combined
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$18.24
2016–2025, closed crop years
SD median $11.31 · 11th highest of 65
Farmland rented
31%
2022 census, rented from others
SD median 46% · 5th lowest of 66

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$34$40 dry$79$122 irrigated

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, 2026$40/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+19.4%nominal, $34 to $40
Irrigated, 2026$122/ac
Pasture, 2026$14/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,359/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$619/ac
Census 2017$959/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+41.7%+7.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022131.0130.0140.6107.6111.3139.797.8145.6108.6140.5median 130.5

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

Median, 2008–2023130.5 bu/ac10 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2019–2023124.6 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2020: 97.8 bu/ac75% of median
Trend, 2008–2023−0.1 bu/ac a year±2.4 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

20082013201820231.210.590.990.500.860.840.470.231.00: claims equal premium

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$18.24
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.91claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.91$21.1 million paid
Worst year2008ratio 1.21
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 35% · hail 29% · excess moisture 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250453

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, 2000–2025289 of 1,357 weeks21% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202145 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202586 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202658.8 °F1991–2020 normal 57.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.48 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September12.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 104% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger4.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202243%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland1,147 ac
Farmed no-till, 20225% of cropland6,371 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland1,274 ac
198619911996200120062011201620212,623102,608

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

CRP enrolled, 2025102,608 ac56.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028889 ac1% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$14/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 105 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202282,012+13.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202231%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Butte County$40$122$1,359$18.24
Carter County, MT$22—$753$30.99
Harding County$33—$1,006$22.72
Lawrence County$25—$2,742—
Meade County$31—$1,388$20.45
Perkins County$39—$1,179$15.58
Crook County, WY$14 2025—$1,776$27.97
Median next door$31—$1,284$22.72

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. Butte 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/butte-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.