Farm Census

Brookings County, South Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

801 farms374,488 acres in farms$445 million in farm sales

No other county in South Dakota with a published figure has more milk cows, or sells more farm products than Brookings County.

Its largest product group with a published figure, grains and oilseeds, makes up 41.5% of farm sales, against 57.1% across South Dakota.

Grains and oilseeds: 41.5%Grains and oilseeds41.5%Milk: 27.0%Milk27.0%Cattle and calves: 15.7%Cattle and calves15.7%Hogs and pigs: 8.6%Hogs and pigs8.6%Hay and other crops: 3.3%3.3%Withheld groups: 2.0%2.0%Other animals: 1.1%1.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 41.5%Grains and oilseeds41.5%Milk: 27.0%Milk27.0%Cattle and calves: 15.7%Cattle and calves15.7%Hogs and pigs: 8.6%8.6%Hay and other crops: 3.3%3.3%Withheld groups: 2.0%2.0%Other animals: 1.1%1.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: poultry and eggs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$185 million11th of 64
Milk from cows$120 million1st of 11
Cattle and calves$70.0 million9th of 63
Hogs and pigs$38.4 million5th of 34
Hay and other crops$14.5 million1st of 49
Other animals and animal products$4.8 million1st of 37
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$1.5 million4th of 16
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.1 million5th of 47
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$571,0002nd of 20
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$319,0001st of 9
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$135,00031st of 47
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$2,0002nd of 2

What the fields held

Brookings County harvested 256,180 acres of cropland in 2022, 22nd of 66 counties in South Dakota. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 43% of that, soybeans 38%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain109,1290.14%
Soybeans98,0530.12%
Hay and haylage29,0330.05%
Corn for silage13,7510.23%
Wheat2,587under 0.1%
Oats2,5840.28%
Vegetables140under 0.1%
of which potatoes11under 0.1%
Berries34under 0.1%
Orchard land22under 0.1%
of which grapes18under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum, barley and apples.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms73.9%

Brookings County ranks 52nd of 66 counties in South Dakota on this measure.

  • 292,257 acres of cropland, 78% of farmland
  • 59,802 acres of pastureland, 16% of farmland
  • 3,635 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 20,896 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Brookings County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 154 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 468 acres, 60th-largest of 65 in South Dakota. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 27.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 12.7% of the total.

1–96%10–4923%50–17927%180–49920%500–99911%1,000–1,9996%2,000+7%
Brookings County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows19,7740.21%
Hogs and pigs119,6050.16%
Sheep and lambs4,8410.09%
Cattle and calves78,5350.09%
Beef cows14,218under 0.1%
Horses and ponies698under 0.1%
Goats611under 0.1%
Laying hens857under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022464under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Brookings County's 801 farms are made by 1,452 producers. Their average age is 59.5, 2.3 years above the South Dakota average. Women are 30.9% of them.

Under 357%35–4411%45–5416%55–6426%65–7424%75+16%
Brookings County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms886−9.6%
Land in farms, acres459,501−18.5%
Average farm size, acres519−9.8%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$316 million+40.6%
Oats, acres1,341+92.7%
Corn for silage, acres13,369+2.9%
Milk cows, head18,551+6.6%
Hogs and pigs, head73,820+62.0%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Brookings County accounts for 3.4% of farm sales in South Dakota and 2.8% of the farms in South Dakota. Rank South Dakota counties for oats.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.