Farm & food prices · Production and land
Cash rent for non-irrigated cropland: Mellette County, South Dakota
The average cash rent farmers paid per acre for non-irrigated cropland, from USDA's yearly cash rents survey.
Up to dateYearly. States at the end of July, counties in August. Last published Aug 21, 2026. Next expected August 2027.
The latest figures and how they have changed
Mellette County, 2026
$49.50 an acre
Up 15.1% from $43 in 2025
South Dakota, 2026
$140 an acre
Up 2.9% from $136 in 2025
United States, 2026
$146 an acre
Down 0.7% from $147 in 2025
Mellette CountySouth DakotaUnited States
Chart by TallyTill · tallytill.com
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What the numbers say
- Mellette County's rent is 0.4 times the South Dakota average and 0.3 times the US average.
- It is the 15th lowest of the 63 South Dakota counties NASS published for 2026.
- Since 2008 it has risen 130.2%, from $21.50 to $49.50 an acre.
- Gaps are years with no separate Mellette figure: NASS ran no county survey in 2015 or 2018, and in 2016, 2019 and 2021 it combined Mellette into "other counties". Nothing is filled in.
Every figure behind this chart
| Year | Mellette County | South Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $49.50 | $140 | $146 |
| 2025 | $43 | $136 | $147 |
| 2024 | $36 | $131 | $146 |
| 2023 | $36.50 | $126 | $142 |
| 2022 | $33.50 | $125 | $135 |
| 2021 | Combined into "other counties" | $120 | $128 |
| 2020 | $34.50 | $118 | $126 |
| 2019 | Combined into "other counties" | $117 | $127 |
| 2018 | No county survey that year | $117 | $125 |
| 2017 | $41 | $117 | $123 |
| 2016 | Combined into "other counties" | $120 | $125 |
| 2015 | No county survey that year | $125 | $133 |
| 2014 | $28 | $114 | $130 |
| 2013 | $31 | $104 | $125 |
| 2012 | $31.50 | $93 | $115 |
| 2011 | $26.50 | $78 | $101 |
| 2010 | $21.50 | $71.50 | No figure |
| 2009 | $20.50 | $71.50 | No figure |
| 2008 | $21.50 | $64 | No figure |
| 2007 | No figure | $56.50 | No figure |
| 2006 | No figure | $53 | No figure |
| 2005 | No figure | $50.40 | No figure |
| 2004 | No figure | $47.50 | No figure |
| 2003 | No figure | $45 | No figure |
| 2002 | No figure | $42 | No figure |
| 2001 | No figure | $40 | No figure |
| 2000 | No figure | $39.80 | No figure |
| 1999 | No figure | $38 | No figure |
| 1998 | No figure | $36.50 | No figure |
| 1997 | No figure | $35 | No figure |
| 1996 | No figure | $31.90 | No figure |
| 1995 | No figure | $30.20 | No figure |
| 1994 | No figure | $30 | No figure |
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Every South Dakota county, 2026
Darker shading means a higher figure. Values run from $23.50 an acre in Fall River County to $252 an acre in Moody County.
- Under $40 (9 counties)
- $40 to under $80 (11 counties)
- $80 to under $120 (12 counties)
- $120 to under $160 (12 counties)
- $160 and over (19 counties)
- Not published separately (3 counties, $43.50 an acre combined)
NASS combined Buffalo County, Oglala Lakota County and Ziebach County into "other counties", so they have no figure of their own.
| Rank | County | Figure (dollars an acre) | Precision (CV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moody County | $252 | 7.1% |
| 1 | Union County | $252 | 4.6% |
| 3 | Lincoln County | $244 | 4.6% |
| 4 | Clay County | $241 | 2.4% |
| 5 | Minnehaha County | $221 | 2.9% |
| 6 | Turner County | $218 | 3.4% |
| 7 | McCook County | $214 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Brookings County | $205 | 3.7% |
| 9 | Yankton County | $194 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Hanson County | $184 | 3.5% |
| 11 | Deuel County | $181 | 2.8% |
| 12 | Lake County | $180 | 4.0% |
| 13 | Roberts County | $179 | 2.4% |
| 14 | Hamlin County | $176 | 3.9% |
| 15 | Codington County | $175 | 2.6% |
| 16 | Clark County | $170 | 3.2% |
| 17 | Brown County | $166 | 3.5% |
| 18 | Hutchinson County | $165 | 5.0% |
| 19 | Bon Homme County | $160 | 3.9% |
| 20 | Day County | $159 | 2.8% |
| 21 | Kingsbury County | $158 | 3.1% |
| 22 | Grant County | $155 | 3.4% |
| 23 | Davison County | $153 | 5.0% |
| 23 | Marshall County | $153 | 6.2% |
| 25 | Miner County | $146 | 2.9% |
| 26 | Douglas County | $143 | 3.4% |
| 27 | Charles Mix County | $142 | 2.2% |
| 28 | Beadle County | $140 | 2.6% |
| 29 | Aurora County | $139 | 9.7% |
| 29 | Spink County | $139 | 3.1% |
| 31 | Sanborn County | $138 | 4.5% |
| 32 | Edmunds County | $112 | 4.2% |
| 32 | Faulk County | $112 | 4.1% |
| 34 | Potter County | $111 | 3.8% |
| 35 | Brule County | $110 | 3.3% |
| 36 | Hand County | $108 | 3.6% |
| 37 | Jerauld County | $105 | 6.9% |
| 37 | Walworth County | $105 | 3.1% |
| 39 | Lyman County | $102 | 8.1% |
| 40 | McPherson County | $99.50 | 3.5% |
| 41 | Sully County | $96.50 | 4.5% |
| 42 | Hyde County | $91.50 | 3.6% |
| 43 | Hughes County | $89.50 | 3.7% |
| 44 | Campbell County | $79.50 | 5.5% |
| 45 | Gregory County | $73 | 3.4% |
| 46 | Tripp County | $70.50 | 3.4% |
| 47 | Haakon County | $53.50 | 3.1% |
| 48 | Corson County | $50.50 | 19.1% |
| 49 | Mellette County This county | $49.50 | 6.6% |
| 50 | Stanley County | $48.50 | 3.7% |
| 51 | Dewey County | $47 | 6.7% |
| 52 | Todd County | $45 | 7.3% |
| 53 | Butte County | $40 | 4.5% |
| 53 | Jackson County | $40 | 13.3% |
| 55 | Perkins County | $39 | 8.5% |
| 56 | Pennington County | $37 | 7.0% |
| 57 | Jones County | $35.50 | 7.7% |
| 58 | Harding County | $32.50 | 7.3% |
| 59 | Bennett County | $32 | 6.5% |
| 60 | Meade County | $31 | 6.1% |
| 61 | Custer County | $28.50 | 13.2% |
| 62 | Lawrence County | $25 | 10.0% |
| 63 | Fall River County | $23.50 | 8.3% |
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Cash Rents Survey. County estimates released Aug 21, 2026; state and US estimates released Jul 31, 2026. Quick Stats item "RENT, CASH, CROPLAND, NON-IRRIGATED - EXPENSE, MEASURED IN $ / ACRE". Retrieved Oct 20, 2026; snapshot 2026-10-20.1. Precision: NASS's coefficient of variation for Mellette is 6.6% (lower means more precise). Dollars as published, not adjusted for inflation. This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS.
What this measures
NASS asks farm operators what they pay in cash rent per acre, separately for irrigated cropland, non-irrigated cropland and pasture. State figures come out at the end of July; county figures follow in August. When too few farms in a county answer, NASS combines that county with others and publishes one "other counties" figure, so some counties have no figure of their own.