Farm Census

Perkins County, South Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

404 farms1,831,580 acres in farms$117 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Perkins County ranks sixth for hay and haylage.

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

Cattle and calves: 63.1%Cattle and calves63.1%Grains and oilseeds: 29.2%Grains and oilseeds29.2%Hay and other crops: 5.4%Hay and other crops5.4%Other animals: 1.1%1.1%Sheep and goats: 0.8%0.8%Horses and mules: 0.3%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 63.1%Cattle and calves63.1%Grains and oilseeds: 29.2%Grains and oilseeds29.2%Hay and other crops: 5.4%5.4%Other animals: 1.1%Sheep and goats: 0.8%Horses and mules: 0.3%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$73.6 million7th of 63
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$34.1 million51st of 64
Hay and other crops$6.3 million9th of 49
Other animals and animal products$1.3 million9th of 37
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$925,0009th of 47
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$315,00016th of 47
Hogs and pigs$53,00030th of 34
Poultry and eggs$18,00024th of 33

What the fields held

Perkins County harvested 262,745 acres of cropland in 2022, 20th of 66 counties in South Dakota. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 63% of that, wheat 18%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage166,6010.31%
Wheat48,5130.13%
Sunflower21,7661.4%
Corn for grain11,913under 0.1%
Corn for silage5,3130.09%
Oats2,7820.30%
Barley2,1470.09%

Withheld to protect individual farms: soybeans and grain sorghum.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms99.7%

Perkins County ranks fourth of 66 counties in South Dakota on this measure.

  • 368,796 acres of cropland, 20% of farmland
  • 1,463,816 acres of pastureland, 80% of farmland
  • 1,415 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 1,300 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Perkins County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 2,492 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 4,534 acres, eighth-largest of 65 in South Dakota. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 54.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 62.4% of the total.

1–92%10–492%50–17911%180–49913%500–99910%1,000–1,9998%2,000+54%
Perkins County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows58,9940.20%
Sheep and lambs7,9820.16%
Cattle and calves105,2830.12%
Horses and ponies1,4330.06%
Goats214under 0.1%
Milk cows31under 0.1%
Laying hens472under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs75under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Perkins County's 404 farms are made by 798 producers. Their average age is 55.9, 1.3 years below the South Dakota average. Women are 36.2% of them.

Under 3510%35–4418%45–5417%55–6419%65–7425%75+11%
Perkins County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms421−4.0%
Land in farms, acres1,639,705+11.7%
Average farm size, acres3,895+16.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$84.9 million+37.5%
Sunflower, acres7,021+100%
Hay and haylage, acres109,282+52.5%
Oats, acres2,181+27.6%
Beef cows, head63,816−7.6%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Perkins County accounts for 0.9% of farm sales in South Dakota and 1.4% of the farms in South Dakota. Rank South Dakota counties for sunflower.

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