Farmland Atlas · county record

Union County, South Dakota

Union County, SD: non-irrigated cash rent $252 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,151 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 177.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 46127. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Union County runs $252 per acre in 2026, up 14.5 percent from 2016. Irrigated land rents at $269 per acre, a multiple of 1.07 over non-irrigated; that multiple was 1.13 in 2009, with no clear direction since. The county spent 85 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 189 of 1357 weeks over 2000-2025. Census land value sits at $7,151 per acre, up 21.7 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$252/ac
2026 county average
SD median $112 · tied for highest of 63
Cash rent, irrigated
$269/ac
2026 county average
SD median $259 · 5th highest of 13
Land and buildings
$7,151/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SD median $3,173 · 5th highest of 66
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
177.7 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 179.5 · irrigated and dryland combined
SD median 151.5 · highest of 33
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.98
2016–2025, closed crop years
SD median $11.31 · 11th lowest of 65
Farmland rented
53%
2022 census, rented from others
SD median 46% · 8th highest of 66

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$133$252 dry$164$269 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$252/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+14.5%nominal, $220 to $252
Irrigated, 2026$269/ac
Pasture, 2026$61/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,151/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,012/ac
Census 2017$5,875/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+21.7%+4.0% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 17% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024165.0189.4181.0median 177.7

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

Median, 2008–2024177.7 bu/ac16 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2020–2024179.5 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2012: 80.7 bu/ac45% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+1.2 bu/ac a year±3.1 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

19952000200520102015202020251.274.020.161.00: 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$6.98
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.68claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.74$182.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium5 of 31
Worst year2012ratio 4.02
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 46% · excess moisture 42% · price decline (revenue policies) 3%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025223511

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, 2000–2025189 of 1,357 weeks14% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202235 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202585 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.4 °F1991–2020 normal 62.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.11 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September21.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 95% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202217%
Drained by tile, 20228% of cropland13,785 ac
Farmed no-till, 202243% of cropland75,715 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland5,417 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202135615,0847,616

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

CRP enrolled, 20257,616 ac4.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20282,102 ac28% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$225/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202219,046−32.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202253%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Union County$252$269$7,151177.7$6.98
Plymouth County, IA$288—$11,556192.0$4.19
Sioux County, IA$336$355$13,341199.1$2.69
Woodbury County, IA$288$248$8,352195.6$5.35
Dakota County, NE$264$322$7,081—$6.67
Dixon County, NE$256$343$5,376—$3.83
Clay County$241$303$7,445175.6$11.38
Lincoln County$244$261$8,445162.3$7.66
Median next door$264$313$8,352192.0$5.35

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. Union 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/union-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.