AgricultureID

State · US-SD

South Dakota

South Dakota is hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) in the east and cold semi-arid steppe (BSk) in the west, with cold winters, warm-to-hot summers, and rainfall declining westward. The Missouri River roughly divides the cropping east from the ranching west.

Major crop systems

  • Rainfed maize and soybean in the east
  • Spring and winter wheat
  • Sunflower, grain sorghum, oats, and alfalfa/hay

Major livestock systems

  • Beef cattle — cow–calf ranching on the western rangeland
  • Cattle feeding and confined hogs
  • Sheep and bison

Agricultural land: The glaciated eastern prairies support intensive row cropping, while the semi-arid West River country and Great Plains grassland are dominated by rangeland and the Black Hills. Irrigation: Production is largely dryland/rainfed, with some irrigation along the Missouri River and its reservoirs.

Agroecological zones: Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental), BSk (Cold semi-arid (steppe))

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) — State department for agriculture and natural resources (agriculture and environment merged in 2021).
  • SDSU Extension (South Dakota State University) — Land-grant research and extension for crops, livestock, and range management.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for South Dakota are published by USDA NASS and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • A statewide profile masks the sharp Missouri-River divide between the cropped, glaciated east and the semi-arid grazing country of the west.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 716 named soil bodies in South Dakota, with surface pH from 4.4 to 8.8 and organic matter from 0.0% to 85.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in South Dakota, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
BuseMollisols7.5–7.92–322.5–31Well drained243in 13 survey areas
Rock outcrop4.5–8.40–0.750–55Excessively drained to Well drained196in 30 survey areas
EthanMollisols7–7.72–2.510–28.5Well drained195in 28 survey areas
FormanMollisols6.8–7.23–622.5–29Well drained153in 10 survey areas
BarnesMollisols6.8–73–410–30Well drained136in 13 survey areas
RenshawMollisols72.5–317–23Somewhat excessively drained125in 14 survey areas
WilliamsMollisols7.24–4.518.5–22Well drained112in 8 survey areas
TonkaMollisols6.5–75–822.5–33Poorly drained111in 18 survey areas
OpalVertisols7.2–7.61–345–57Well drained104in 20 survey areas
AastadMollisols6.3–75–623–29Moderately well drained94in 10 survey areas
ClarnoMollisols6.7315–23.5Well drained93in 19 survey areas
DelmontMollisols7–7.2322–23.5Somewhat excessively drained93in 29 survey areas
HoudekMollisols6.7322–28.5Well drained90in 18 survey areas
SiouxMollisols7–7.6213–19.5Excessively drained89in 14 survey areas
OrthentsEntisols6.5–7.90.25–52.5–40.5Excessively drained to Well drained86in 55 survey areas
PromiseVertisols7448–58Well drained86in 21 survey areas
SansarcEntisols7.5–7.61.5–2.643–60Well drained85in 22 survey areas
ZahlMollisols7.2–8222–24Well drained80in 8 survey areas
PierreEntisols to Vertisols (the survey records both)6.8–7.41.8–2.532–57Well drained76in 13 survey areas
ParnellMollisols6.5–75–829–34Very poorly drained73in 18 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

73.8% of South Dakota’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
11.3%
D0 · not drought
15.0%
D1
35.0%
D2
27.1%
D3
11.7%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

45 stations in South Dakota publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
ABERDEEN, SD US44.1°F21.82 in178.9
ACADEMY 2NE, SD US47.7°F23.99 in166.8
ALEXANDRIA, SD US45.0°F25.32 in159.1
BROOKINGS 2 NE, SD US43.3°F25.21 in176.7
CENTERVILLE 6 SE, SD US46.4°F26.88 in163.6
CHAMBERLAIN 5 S, SD US46.8°F24.08 in166.4
COLUMBIA 8 N, SD US42.9°F22.46 in179.3
COTTONWOOD 2 E, SD US46.1°F17.38 in186.3

Eight of 45 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12