Table 1. Historical Highlights: 2012 and Earlier Census Years 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
All farms 
2012 
2007 
2002 
1997 
Not adjusted for coverage 
1997 
1992 
1987 
1982 
Farms 
... number 
31,989 
31,169 
31 ,736 
33,191 
31,284 
34,057 
36,376 
37,148 
Land in farms 
acres 
43,257,079 
43,666,403 
43,785,079 
44,141,892 
44,354,880 
44,828,124 
44,157,503 
43,810,988 
Average size of farm 
acres 
1,352 
1,401 
1,380 
1,330 
1,418 
1,316 
1,214 
1,179 
Estimated market value of 
land and buildings 
Average per farm 
dollars 
2,281,026 
1,255,332 
618,651 
473,015 
487,039 
360,111 
326,333 
418,940 
Average per acre 
dollars 
1,687 
896 
442 
358 
348 
273 
269 
348 
Estimated market value of all 
machinery and equipment ' 
....$1,000 
7,721,279 
4,847,160 
3,340,044 
2,961,502 
2,852,531 
2,398,312 
1,996,230 
2,248,595 
Average per farm 
dollars 
241,388 
155,652 
107,376 
89,285 
91,182 
70,495 
55,005 
60,589 
Farms by size: 
1 to 9 acres 
1,300 
920 
777 
1,243 
1,015 
1,504 
1,881 
1,919 
1 0 to 49 acres 
4,976 
3,898 
3,549 
3,189 
2,596 
2,622 
2,638 
2,105 
50 to 1 79 acres 
6,419 
5,909 
5,755 
5,607 
4,844 
4,977 
5,083 
5,248 
1 80 to 499 acres 
5,353 
5,874 
6,091 
6,961 
6,500 
7,286 
8,625 
9,505 
500 to 999 acres 
4,229 
4,714 
5,353 
5,917 
5,866 
6,917 
7,618 
8,206 
1 ,000 to 1 ,999 acres 
4,075 
4,362 
4,758 
5,117 
5,185 
5,584 
5,728 
5,723 
2,000 acres or more 
5,637 
5,492 
5,453 
5,157 
5,278 
5,167 
4,803 
4,442 
Total cropland 
farms 
26,422 
26,625 
28,110 
29,125 
27,712 
30,142 
32,451 
33,844 
acres 
19,147,320 
19,094,311 
20,318,036 
19,706,193 
19,355,256 
19,582,565 
19,641,972 
18,838,739 
Flarvested cropland 
farms 
21,340 
21,902 
22,931 
26,808 
25,654 
28,430 
31,110 
32,823 
acres 
16,392,000 
15,278,709 
13,492,286 
14,770,445 
14,284,741 
13,624,006 
12,982,611 
14,433,490 
Irrigated land 
farms 
1,656 
1,627 
1,755 
1,555 
1,439 
1,674 
1,869 
1,815 
acres 
378,678 
373,842 
401 ,083 
367,195 
343,742 
371 ,263 
361,796 
376,447 
Market value of agricultural 
products sold (see text) 
....$1,000 
10,170,227 
6,570,450 
3,834,625 
3,664,129 
3,569,951 
3,243,554 
2,719,498 
2,478,111 
Average per farm 
dollars 
317,929 
210,801 
120,829 
110,395 
114,114 
95,239 
74,761 
66,709 
Crops, including nursery 
and greenhouse crops 
....$1,000 
6,072,922 
3,383,497 
1,575,910 
1,744,438 
1,654,044 
1 ,072,895 
857,373 
842,980 
Livestock, poultry, and 
their products 
....$1,000 
4,097,304 
3,186,953 
2,258,715 
1,919,692 
1,915,907 
2,170,659 
1,862,125 
1,635,131 
Farms by value of sales 
Less than $2,500 
7,945 
8,277 
6,952 
4,108 
3,338 
2,792 
2,888 
2,633 
$2,500 to $4,999 
1,495 
1,077 
1,412 
1,788 
1,605 
1,658 
2,020 
1,841 
$5,000 to $9,999 
1,767 
1,433 
1,774 
2,496 
2,273 
2,779 
3,190 
3,144 
$10,000 to $24,999 
2,527 
2,515 
3,530 
4,741 
4,516 
5,493 
6,764 
7,043 
$25,000 to $49,999 
2,281 
2,515 
3,838 
4,894 
4,690 
5,792 
7,026 
8,172 
$50,000 to $99,999 
2,946 
3,409 
4,564 
5,555 
5,415 
6,829 
7,706 
8,090 
$100,000 to $499,999 
8,218 
9,099 
8,441 
8,595 
8,449 
8,043 
6,338 
5,791 
$500,000 or more 
4,810 
2,844 
1,225 
1,014 
998 
671 
444 
338 
Farms by legal status for tax 
purposes (see text): 
Family or individual 
27,544 
26,633 
28,189 
28,906 
27,133 
29,525 
31,761 
32,396 
Partnership 
2,150 
2,658 
2,163 
2,694 
2,605 
3,179 
3,394 
3,613 
Corporation 
1,644 
1,421 
1,066 
1,321 
1,298 
1,104 
942 
885 
Other-cooperative, estate 
or trust, institutional, etc 
651 
457 
318 
270 
248 
249 
279 
254 
Principal operator by days of work 
off farm 
None 
14,049 
13,679 
16,736 
16,492 
16,003 
18,373 
19,798 
19,568 
Any 
17,940 
17,490 
15,000 
14,327 
13,049 
12,540 
13,553 
12,941 
200 days or more 
11,551 
10,335 
9,571 
8,174 
7,289 
6,614 
6,641 
5,616 
Principal operator by primary occupation: 
Farming 
18,844 
18,775 
23,049 
23,498 
22,704 
26,141 
28,407 
30,267 
Other 
13,145 
12,394 
8,687 
9,693 
8,580 
7,916 
7,969 
6,881 
Average age of principal operator 
years 
55.9 
55.7 
53.3 
51.7 
51.8 
51.1 
49.7 
48.6 
Total farm production 
expenses ' 
....$1,000 
8,104,502 
4,989,172 
3,311,884 
2,803,735 
2,733,387 
2,563,564 
2,138,164 
(NA) 
Selected farm production 
expenses ^ 
Livestock and poultry purchased 
or leased 
....$1,000 
978,174 
881,582 
580,920 
456,104 
452,194 
632,721 
519,803 
446,010 
Feed purchased 
....$1,000 
1,282,133 
617,725 
433,345 
373,462 
369,705 
360,923 
277,680 
268,944 
Fertilizer, lime, and soil 
conditioners purchased ® 
....$1,000 
989,154 
524,327 
239,257 
191,678 
185,850 
128,044 
96,748 
79,742 
Gasoline, fuels, and oils purchased 
....$1,000 
447,956 
310,328 
160,186 
163,269 
159,131 
157,432 
144,494 
214,464 
Flired farm labor 
....$1,000 
267,349 
177,684 
134,685 
113,183 
109,897 
95,956 
94,911 
67,414 
Interest expense ® 
....$1,000 
392,136 
306,448 
266,573 
233,514 
226,685 
198,194 
200,864 
296,609 
Chemicals purchased 
....$1,000 
485,145 
257,553 
163,371 
184,055 
175,778 
110,347 
77,926 
53,836 
Livestock and poultry: 
Cattle and calves 
inventory 
farms 
15,583 
15,667 
17,983 
21,345 
20,502 
22,576 
23,998 
27,000 
number 
3,893,251 
3,687,728 
3,695,877 
3,710,629 
3,723,271 
3,777,822 
3,630,200 
3,925,131 
Beef cows 
farms 
13,327 
13,802 
15,515 
18,008 
17,428 
18,597 
19,034 
21,361 
number 
1,610,559 
1 ,649,492 
1,694,091 
1,662,162 
1,675,000 
1 ,604,838 
1,502,927 
1 ,595,688 
Milk cows 
farms 
689 
656 
1,114 
1,854 
1,802 
2,873 
3,940 
5,610 
number 
91,831 
86,243 
84,080 
96,712 
95,882 
117,454 
137,020 
158,180 
Cattle and calves sold 
farms 
14,306 
15,171 
17,060 
21,512 
20,782 
22,802 
24,464 
27,274 
number 
2,567,027 
2,745,227 
2,707,872 
2,449,587 
2,448,551 
2,500,254 
2,398,208 
2,419,576 
Hogs and pigs inventory 
farms 
681 
959 
1,506 
3,027 
2,899 
6,710 
7,906 
9,336 
number 
1,191,162 
1,490,034 
1,375,506 
1,394,357 
1 ,396,326 
1,978,195 
1,750,236 
1,764,654 
Hogs and pigs sold 
farms 
678 
1,042 
1,738 
3,189 
3,067 
7,125 
8,265 
10,022 
number 
3,914,312 
4,487,708 
3,773,503 
2,610,493 
2,596,164 
3,654,082 
3,181,008 
3,066,751 
See footnote(s) at end of table. -continued 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
South Dakota 7 
