Lake County, South Dakota
Lake County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $180 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,473 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 170.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46079. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Lake County averages $180 per acre in 2026, down 6.7 percent from 2016. Irrigated rent runs higher at $271 per acre, though irrigation covers only 1 percent of harvested cropland here. Corn yields trend up 1.7 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 170.9 bushels per acre and a worst year of 126 in 2012. Crop insurance history points to water, not heat, as the dominant risk: excess moisture and flood account for 50 percent of the $115.4 million paid out over 1989-2025, and severe drought or worse covered 90 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025. Heat and drought's share of indemnities moved from 2 percent in 1989-1999, to 28 percent in 2000-2009, to 10 percent in 2010-2019, to 41 percent in 2020-2025.
SD median $112 · 12th highest of 63
SD median $259 · 4th highest of 13
SD median $3,173 · 7th highest of 66
SD median 151.5 · 5th highest of 33
SD median $11.31 · 6th lowest of 65
SD median 46% · 22nd 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 | Irr. rent | Land value | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County | $180 | $271 | $6,473 | 170.9 | $4.97 |
| Brookings County | $205 | $259 | $6,212 | 170.4 | $3.62 |
| Kingsbury County | $158 | — | $5,005 | — | $6.49 |
| McCook County | $214 | — | $6,395 | 158.5 | $11.73 |
| Miner County | $146 | — | $4,428 | — | $9.94 |
| Minnehaha County | $221 | $241 | $8,346 | 172.0 | $3.75 |
| Moody County | $252 | — | $8,691 | — | $3.39 |
| Median next door | $210 | $250 2 co. | $6,304 | 170.4 | $5.12 |
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. Lake 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/lake-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.