Farm Census

Spink County, South Dakota

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

589 farms882,273 acres in farms$552 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Spink County ranks seventh for soybeans.

Within South Dakota, no other county with a published figure sells more farm products.

Grains and oilseeds: 78.1%Grains and oilseeds78.1%Cattle and calves: 17.0%Cattle and calves17.0%Hogs and pigs: 2.8%Hogs and pigs2.8%Hay and other crops: 1.1%1.1%Poultry and eggs: 0.5%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 78.1%Grains and oilseeds78.1%Cattle and calves: 17.0%Cattle and calves17.0%Hogs and pigs: 2.8%2.8%Hay and other crops: 1.1%1.1%Poultry and eggs: 0.5%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Nursery and greenhouse: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, Christmas trees, milk and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$431 million1st of 64
Cattle and calves$93.8 million4th of 63
Hogs and pigs$15.6 million16th of 34
Hay and other crops$6.0 million12th of 49
Poultry and eggs$3.0 million7th of 33
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$550,00015th of 47
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$191,00021st of 47
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$21,00015th of 16

What the fields held

Spink County harvested 640,055 acres of cropland in 2022, first of 66 counties in South Dakota. Soybeans covered acreage equal to 47% of that, corn for grain 36%.

CropAcresShare of US
Soybeans303,4110.36%
Corn for grain229,2170.28%
Hay and haylage44,7930.08%
Wheat35,3950.10%
Sunflower7,4860.47%
Corn for silage7,1400.12%
Oats3,1800.35%
Dry edible beans1,2060.10%
Barley1,029under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms91.7%

Spink County ranks 26th of 66 counties in South Dakota on this measure.

  • 718,746 acres of cropland, 81% of farmland
  • 132,672 acres of pastureland, 15% of farmland
  • 7,138 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 23,629 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Spink County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 600 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,498 acres, 30th-largest of 65 in South Dakota. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 27.2% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 39.4% of the total.

1–92%10–498%50–17919%180–49917%500–99914%1,000–1,99912%2,000+27%
Spink County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Cattle and calves76,0930.09%
Turkeys81,8040.08%
Hogs and pigs47,0630.06%
Sheep and lambs1,101under 0.1%
Horses and ponies227under 0.1%
Goats57under 0.1%
Laying hens305under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on Spink County's 589 farms are made by 1,093 producers. Their average age is 57.5, 0.3 years above the South Dakota average. Women are 29.6% of them.

Under 3510%35–4414%45–5412%55–6429%65–7423%75+12%
Spink County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms556+5.9%
Land in farms, acres961,154−8.2%
Average farm size, acres1,729−13.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$382 million+44.2%
Sunflower, acres4,173+79.4%
Soybeans, acres399,152−24.0%
Oats, acres418+100%
Corn for grain, acres276,984−17.2%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Spink County accounts for 4.3% of farm sales in South Dakota and 2.1% of the farms in South Dakota. Rank South Dakota counties for sunflower.

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