Table 69. Summary by Age and Primary Occupation of Principal Operator: 2012 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
Total farming 
and other 
occupations 
Farming 
Item 
Total 
Age of operator (years) 
Under 25 
25 to 34 
35 to 44 
45 to 54 
55 to 64 
65 and over 
FARMS AND LAND IN FARMS 
Farms 
number 
31,989 
18,844 
178 
1,489 
2,108 
4,247 
5,458 
5,364 
percent 
100.0 
58.9 
0.6 
4.7 
6.6 
13.3 
17.1 
16.8 
Land in farms 
acres 
43,257,079 
37,338,100 
98,939 
1,786,166 
4,203,129 
9,602,913 
11,391,936 
10,255,017 
Average size of farm 
acres 
1,352 
1,981 
556 
1,200 
1,994 
2,261 
2,087 
1,912 
MARKET VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL 
PRODUCTS SOLD AND GOVERNMENT 
PAYMENTS 
Total 
farms 
31,989 
18,844 
178 
1,489 
2,108 
4,247 
5,458 
5,364 
$1,000 
10,454,024 
9,619,750 
30,306 
519,583 
1 ,284,287 
2,727,216 
3,238,606 
1,819,751 
Average per farm 
dollars 
326,801 
510,494 
170,260 
348,948 
609,244 
642,151 
593,369 
339,253 
Farms by economic class: 
Less than $1 ,000 (see text) 
2,838 
732 
4 
50 
80 
116 
175 
307 
$1 ,000 to $2,499 
1,931 
484 
- 
35 
31 
91 
126 
201 
$2,500 to $4,999 
2,182 
587 
11 
42 
41 
98 
147 
248 
$5,000 to $9,999 
2,643 
741 
12 
39 
67 
98 
168 
357 
$10,000 to $24,999 
3,536 
1,341 
13 
83 
126 
223 
345 
551 
$25,000 to $49,999 
2,518 
1,241 
24 
103 
112 
201 
346 
455 
$50,000 to $99,999 
3,038 
1,911 
21 
180 
202 
403 
468 
637 
$100,000 to $249,999 
4,551 
3,636 
51 
419 
326 
765 
1,104 
971 
$250,000 to $499,999 
3,759 
3,384 
35 
292 
494 
832 
990 
741 
$500,000 to $999,999 
2,635 
2,515 
6 
140 
315 
723 
843 
488 
$1 ,000,000 or more 
2,358 
2,272 
1 
106 
314 
697 
746 
408 
$1,000,000 to $2,499,999 
1,748 
1,688 
1 
90 
222 
527 
557 
291 
$2,500,000 to $4,999,999 
403 
394 
- 
8 
66 
115 
117 
88 
$5,000,000 or more 
207 
190 
- 
8 
26 
55 
72 
29 
Total sales 
farms 
31,989 
18,844 
178 
1,489 
2,108 
4,247 
5,458 
5,364 
$1,000 
10,170,227 
9,391,204 
29,654 
507,272 
1 ,257,303 
2,668,249 
3,162,150 
1,766,575 
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and 
dry peas 
farms 
14,961 
12,105 
125 
1,010 
1,430 
2,980 
3,708 
2,852 
$1,000 
5,809,792 
5,442,605 
18,164 
303,820 
764,339 
1,563,220 
1,810,332 
982,730 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
1 1 ,059 
9,698 
102 
803 
1,205 
2,472 
3,044 
2,072 
$1,000 
5,729,232 
5,389,025 
17,667 
299,127 
759,186 
1,551,551 
1 ,795,593 
965,901 
Corn 
farms 
12,894 
10,672 
116 
892 
1,278 
2,713 
3,340 
2,333 
$1,000 
3,063,457 
2,870,521 
11,440 
170,144 
417,302 
804,364 
975,690 
491 ,582 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
8,433 
7,582 
81 
618 
959 
1,979 
2,441 
1,504 
$1,000 
2,973,334 
2,804,598 
10,725 
163,943 
410,326 
788,338 
957,223 
474,044 
Wheat 
farms 
4,800 
4,312 
17 
284 
538 
1,090 
1,311 
1,072 
$1,000 
755,870 
717,627 
(D) 
(D) 
85,583 
221,133 
220,502 
160,055 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
2,742 
2,585 
4 
136 
325 
715 
800 
605 
$1,000 
709,038 
677,114 
200 
26,421 
80,906 
211,617 
208,603 
149,368 
Soybeans 
farms 
10,960 
9,113 
95 
728 
1,138 
2,285 
2,892 
1,975 
$1,000 
1,692,677 
1,582,303 
6,174 
91,605 
221 ,333 
448,735 
539,449 
275,006 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
6,832 
6,237 
58 
441 
812 
1,722 
2,062 
1,142 
$1,000 
1,597,736 
1,511,210 
5,348 
83,832 
213,409 
434,753 
518,034 
255,835 
Sorghum 
farms 
526 
462 
- 
18 
48 
149 
125 
122 
$1,000 
39,738 
37,114 
- 
1,434 
5,860 
10,351 
10,481 
8,988 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
219 
193 
- 
7 
26 
58 
56 
46 
$1,000 
33,672 
31,485 
- 
1,229 
5,472 
8,466 
8,976 
7,342 
Barley 
farms 
147 
126 
- 
9 
6 
42 
39 
30 
$1,000 
3,844 
3,707 
- 
461 
136 
898 
1,105 
1,107 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
20 
19 
- 
4 
2 
5 
4 
4 
$1,000 
2,289 
(D) 
- 
439 
(D) 
456 
501 
707 
Rice 
farms 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Other grains, oilseeds, 
dry beans, and dry peas 
farms 
2,088 
1,841 
2 
136 
199 
464 
569 
471 
$1,000 
254,206 
231 ,334 
(D) 
(D) 
34,126 
77,739 
63,104 
45,992 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
863 
784 
50 
101 
211 
243 
179 
$1,000 
236,339 
215,812 
- 
8,711 
32,564 
73,696 
58,798 
42,043 
Tobacco 
farms 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
_ 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Cotton and cottonseed 
farms 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Vegetables, melons, potatoes, 
and sweet potatoes 
farms 
177 
94 
7 
6 
18 
41 
22 
$1,000 
2,186 
1,688 
- 
(D) 
(D) 
(D) 
(D) 
278 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
9 
9 
- 
1 
3 
4 
1 
$1,000 
961 
961 
- 
- 
(D) 
(D) 
438 
(D) 
Fruits, tree nuts, and berries 
farms 
86 
35 
_ 
2 
3 
12 
12 
6 
$1,000 
887 
612 
- 
(D) 
2 
(D) 
75 
(D) 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
3 
2 
- 
- 
1 
- 
1 
$1 ,000 
524 
(D) 
- 
- 
- 
(D) 
- 
(D) 
Fruits and tree nuts 
farms 
66 
26 
- 
- 
3 
8 
9 
6 
$1,000 
810 
553 
- 
- 
2 
(D) 
(D) 
(D) 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
3 
2 
- 
- 
- 
1 
1 
$1,000 
(D) 
(D) 
- 
- 
- 
(D) 
- 
(D) 
Berries 
farms 
26 
13 
- 
2 
- 
5 
6 
- 
$1,000 
76 
59 
- 
(D) 
- 
(D) 
(D) 
- 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
$1,000 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, 
and sod (see text) 
farms 
153 
83 
10 
8 
15 
40 
10 
$1,000 
14,670 
10,388 
- 
(D) 
(D) 
3,402 
4,703 
789 
Sales of $50,000 or more 
farms 
47 
32 
- 
8 
1 
5 
15 
3 
$1,000 
13,261 
9,697 
- 
(D) 
(D) 
3,125 
4,448 
750 
See footnote(s) at end of table. --continued 
186 South Dakota 2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
