Farmland Atlas · county record

Day County, South Dakota

Day County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $159 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,549 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 150.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46037. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Day County is $159 per acre in 2026, up 13.6 percent from 2016. Land value was $3,549 per acre in 2022, up 34.2 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$159/ac
2026 county average
SD median $112 · 20th highest of 63
Land and buildings
$3,549/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SD median $3,173 · 31st highest of 66
Rent as % of land value
4.09%
$145 dry rent ÷ $3,549 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
150.2 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 169.4
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.43
2016–2025, closed crop years
SD median $11.31 · 17th lowest of 65
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
SD median 46% · 17th lowest of 66

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$73$159 dry

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$159/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+13.6%nominal, $140 to $159
Pasture, 2026$50/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.94$159 ÷ 169.4 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,549/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,911/ac
Census 2017$2,645/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+34.2%+6.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20224.09%$145 ÷ $3,549; cropland 74% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024100.0189.4177.6median 150.2

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

Median, 2008–2025150.2 bu/ac14 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025169.4 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 100.0 bu/ac67% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.3 bu/ac a year±1.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020251.082.130.271.00: 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$8.43
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.69claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.65$236.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium7 of 31
Worst year2020ratio 2.13
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 54% · hail 15% · heat and drought 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025042

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, 2000–202520 of 1,357 weeks2% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks20244 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202512 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202660.6 °F1991–2020 normal 59.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.48 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September17.8 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland11,155 ac
Farmed no-till, 202229% of cropland103,507 ac
Cover crops, 20224% of cropland12,911 ac
198619911996200120062011201620216,60792,24245,112

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

CRP enrolled, 202545,112 ac14.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202815,239 ac34% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$157/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 99 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202223,951−38.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Day County$159—$3,549—$8.43
Brown County$166$200$4,295154.7$11.29
Clark County$170$256 2023$4,741161.4$6.21
Codington County$175—$4,311—$6.05
Grant County$155—$4,207159.6$5.41
Marshall County$153—$3,787157.5$12.83
Roberts County$179—$4,089154.3$7.45
Spink County$139$179 2025$4,245155.8$7.29
Median next door$166$200 1 co.$4,245156.7$7.29

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. Day 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/day-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.