Farm Census

Meade County, South Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

797 farms2,217,742 acres in farms$122 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Meade County ranks fourth for beef cows and hay and haylage.

Within South Dakota, no other county with a published figure has more land in farms.

Its hay acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the second-largest increase among the 100 leading hay counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Cattle and calves: 77.7%Cattle and calves77.7%Grains and oilseeds: 12.8%Grains and oilseeds12.8%Hay and other crops: 6.6%6.6%Horses and mules: 1.5%1.5%Sheep and goats: 0.8%0.8%Other animals: 0.5%0.5%Poultry and eggs: 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 77.7%Cattle and calves77.7%Grains and oilseeds: 12.8%Grains and oilseeds12.8%Hay and other crops: 6.6%6.6%Horses and mules: 1.5%1.5%Sheep and goats: 0.8%0.8%Other animals: 0.5%Poultry and eggs: 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons and fruit and nuts.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$94.6 million3rd of 63
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$15.6 million58th of 64
Hay and other crops$8.1 million4th of 49
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$1.8 million2nd of 47
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$985,0008th of 47
Other animals and animal products$586,00015th of 37
Poultry and eggs$90,00015th of 33
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$70,00012th of 16
Hogs and pigs$28,00032nd of 34

What the fields held

Meade County harvested 299,490 acres of cropland in 2022, 16th of 66 counties in South Dakota. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 78% of that, wheat 7%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage234,5870.43%
Wheat20,5440.06%
Grain sorghum13,4140.29%
Sunflower12,1990.77%
Corn for grain6,146under 0.1%
Corn for silage5,2250.09%
Oats5200.06%
Orchard land34under 0.1%
of which grapes26under 0.1%
of which apples3under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: barley, vegetables and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.8%

Meade County ranks second of 66 counties in South Dakota on this measure.

  • 449,585 acres of cropland, 20% of farmland
  • 1,759,252 acres of pastureland, 79% of farmland
  • 8,556 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 4,501 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Meade County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 827 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 2,783 acres, 16th-largest of 65 in South Dakota. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 37.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 47.3% of the total.

1–93%10–4915%50–17917%180–4999%500–9999%1,000–1,99910%2,000+38%
Meade County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows81,7730.28%
Cattle and calves132,8660.15%
Sheep and lambs6,6460.13%
Horses and ponies2,8540.12%
Goats638under 0.1%
Laying hens2,614under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs161under 0.1%
Milk cows20under 0.1%
Turkeys29under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022100under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Meade County's 797 farms are made by 1,502 producers. Their average age is 55.8, 1.4 years below the South Dakota average. Women are 38.3% of them.

Under 3514%35–4415%45–5416%55–6422%65–7422%75+12%
Meade County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms835−4.6%
Land in farms, acres1,998,775+11.0%
Average farm size, acres2,394+16.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$99.2 million+22.9%
Sunflower, acres7,299+67.1%
Hay and haylage, acres147,998+58.5%
Grain sorghum, acres3,686+100%
Beef cows, head79,459+2.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Meade County accounts for 0.9% of farm sales in South Dakota and 2.8% of the farms in South Dakota. Rank South Dakota counties for sunflower.

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