Farmland Atlas · county record

McPherson County, South Dakota

McPherson County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $100 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,389 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 117.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46089. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in McPherson County is $100 per acre for 2026, up 27.6 percent from 2016. Corn yields have a fitted trend of 2.5 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2025, with a median of 117 bushels per acre and a worst year of 70.2 in 2021. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities over 1989-2025 at 51 percent, and its share rose from 10 percent in 1989-1999 to 58 percent in 2000-2009, then 41 percent in 2010-2019, then 61 percent in 2020-2025. Irrigation covers 1 percent of harvested cropland here, so this exposure runs through dryland yields and rent, not water infrastructure.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$100/ac
2026 county average
SD median $112 · 24th lowest of 63
Land and buildings
$2,389/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SD median $3,173 · 25th lowest of 66
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.67
$100 ÷ 147.8 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
117.0 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 147.8
SD median 151.5 · 5th lowest of 33
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.51
2016–2025, closed crop years
SD median $11.31 · 30th highest of 65
Farmland rented
42%
2022 census, rented from others
SD median 46% · 22nd lowest of 66

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$41$100 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$100/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+27.6%nominal, $78 to $100
Pasture, 2026$44/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.67$100 ÷ 147.8 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,389/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,530/ac
Census 2017$2,154/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+10.9%+2.1% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 50% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024111.0163.7median 117.0

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

Median, 2008–2025117.0 bu/ac15 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025147.8 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2021: 70.2 bu/ac60% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+2.5 bu/ac a year±2.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

200120062011201620210.793.350.081.00: 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$11.51
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.65claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.71$183.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium6 of 25
Worst year2006ratio 3.35
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 51% · excess moisture 30% · hail 8%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250310

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, 2000–2025100 of 1,357 weeks7% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202131 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202544 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202659.5 °F1991–2020 normal 58.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.55 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September16.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 98% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Drained by tile, 2022under 1% of cropland349 ac
Farmed no-till, 202236% of cropland117,159 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland2,003 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202146363,75225,508

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

CRP enrolled, 202525,508 ac8.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20284,136 ac16% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$58/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202268,182−17.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202242%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
McPherson County$100—$2,389117.0$11.51
Dickey County, ND$121$199$3,238146.7$13.58
McIntosh County, ND$78—$1,783—$12.88
Brown County$166$200$4,295154.7$11.29
Campbell County$80—$2,316112.4$9.66
Edmunds County$112—$3,025—$12.47
Walworth County$105—$2,513—$7.13
Median next door$109$200 2 co.$2,769146.7$11.88

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. McPherson 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/mcpherson-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.