Sully County, South Dakota
Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture
203 farms578,110 acres in farms$268 million in farm sales
Among US counties with published figures, Sully County leads the country in sunflower.
Within South Dakota, no other county with a published figure has more wheat.
Sales by product group
| Product group | Sales | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|
| Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas | $200 million | 9th of 64 |
| Cattle and calves | $51.7 million | 23rd of 63 |
| Hay and other crops | $1.9 million | 42nd of 49 |
| Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys | $326,000 | 14th of 47 |
| Other animals and animal products | $82,000 | 28th of 37 |
| Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk | $29,000 | 46th of 47 |
What the fields held
Sully County harvested 394,581 acres of cropland in 2022, sixth of 66 counties in South Dakota. Wheat covered acreage equal to 34% of that, corn for grain 27%.
| Crop | Acres | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 132,368 | 0.36% |
| Corn for grain | 107,445 | 0.13% |
| Sunflower | 89,336 | 5.6% |
| Soybeans | 42,659 | 0.05% |
| Hay and haylage | 11,951 | under 0.1% |
| Grain sorghum | 5,060 | 0.11% |
| Corn for silage | 2,887 | under 0.1% |
Withheld to protect individual farms: barley.
How much of the county is farmland
Share of the county land in farms89.7%
Sully County ranks 31st of 66 counties in South Dakota on this measure.
- 438,635 acres of cropland, 76% of farmland
- 131,207 acres of pastureland, 23% of farmland
- 1,704 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
- 19,177 acres irrigated
Farm sizes
Farms in Sully County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 910 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 2,848 acres, 15th-largest of 65 in South Dakota. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 34.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 48.8% of the total.
Barns, pens and pastures
| Animals | Head | Share of US |
|---|---|---|
| Cattle and calves | 33,608 | under 0.1% |
| Horses and ponies | 764 | under 0.1% |
| Sheep and lambs | 394 | under 0.1% |
| Laying hens | 142 | under 0.1% |
Withheld: beef cows, milk cows and hogs and pigs.
Who farms here
Decisions on Sully County's 203 farms are made by 352 producers. Their average age is 59.6, 2.4 years above the South Dakota average. Women are 32.4% of them.
Five years earlier
| Measure | 2017 | Change to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Farms | 201 | +1.0% |
| Land in farms, acres | 632,859 | −8.7% |
| Average farm size, acres | 3,149 | −9.6% |
| Farm products sold (current dollars) | $137 million | +95.6% |
| Sunflower, acres | 121,613 | −26.5% |
| Wheat, acres | 61,036 | +100% |
| Corn for grain, acres | 118,066 | −9.0% |
| Grain sorghum, acres | 8,456 | −40.2% |
Nearest rivals
- Sunflower ahead of Emmons County, ND and Lyman County, SD
- Wheat between Phillips County, MT and Morrow County, OR
- Corn for grain between Audubon County, IA and Phillips County, CO
- Grain sorghum between Marshall County, KS and Denton County, TX
Counties with a similar sales mix
- Kingsbury County, South Dakota largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- Perkins County, Nebraska largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
- York County, Nebraska largest group: grains and oilseeds; mix match 99%
Sully County accounts for 2.1% of farm sales in South Dakota and 0.7% of the farms in South Dakota. Rank South Dakota counties for sunflower.
Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.