What\u27s happening to our farms in South Dakota? Turn to the Census of Agriculture, conducted every 5 years by the United States Bureau of the Census, to find part of the answer. Begun in 1920, this census has grown and changed over the years to provide its present broad coverage of farm facts. From 1978 data* and earlier censuses, here is a summary of the basic characteristics and trends for South Dakota farms and farm operators. SOUTH DAKOTA FARMS  The 1978 census counted 39,665 farms in South Dakota. This is 3,160 (7.4%) fewer than shown in the 1974 census.** Table 3.

Riley, M P

Swanjord, T. S.

English

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South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeAgricultural Experiment Station Circulars SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station5-1982Farm Facts, Population Update, Report Number 6M P. RileySouth Dakota State UniversityT. S. SwanjordSouth Dakota State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_circThis Circular is brought to you for free and open access by the SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research AccessInstitutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Agricultural Experiment Station Circulars by an authorizedadministrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, pleasecontact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationRiley, M P. and Swanjord, T. S., "Farm Facts, Population Update, Report Number 6" (1982). Agricultural Experiment Station Circulars.Paper 234.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_circ/2340 I 0 !. ti I r • I farm facts I Update Series, C 229, No.6 Department of Rural Sociology Agricultural Experiment Station South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota r, L� May 1982 POPULATIOn UPDATE -I.._ I A •• Pubhshe>d 111 accordanCC' wllh an An pa<.sC'd in 1881 by the> 14th LC'g1slat1vc> A'i'if'mblv. Dakota lerritorv. C'Slablish1ng the Oakotd Aw1cultural Collf'gf' and with thf' Act of rf'-otgan11at1on rasc;pd m 1887 bv the 17th leg1\lat1ve Assembly. which establishf.'d the Agr1cultural � \flC'rlm('nl Stt1t1on at South Dakota Sta!P Un1vC'r\1tv File: 5.4-l--3M--5-82mb If ( . . I , I farm facts Marvin P. Riley, professor, and Texas S. Swanjord, graduate research assistant, Department of Rural Sociology What's happening to our farms in South Dakota? Turn to the Census of Agricul­ture, conducted every 5 years by the United States Bureau of the Census, to find part of the answer. Begun in 1920, this census has grown and changed over the years to provide its present broad coverage of farm facts. From 1978 data* and earlier censuses, here is a swnmary of the basic characteristics and trends for South Dakota farms and farm operators. SOUTH DAKOTA FARMS The 1978 census counted 39,665 farms in South Dakota. This is 3,160 (7.4%) fewer than shown in the 1974 census.** Table 3.) (For county data see Trend in Farm Numbers The decline in the number of *A 1976 change in the law to adjust the agricultural census to the same years as the economic census required the Census of Agriculture to be taken for 1978 and 1982, and thereafter every fifth year. **The definition of a farm is the same as that adopted in the final 1974 Census. For statistical purposes a farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. State data reflect an additional 921 farms from sample data not included in individual county data. farms in South Dakota has slowed. For the last 43 years of records, the high was over 83,000 in 1935. The 1978 low is about half that (Fig. 1). 0) 0 0) U'1 -;;, r--0 0 0 r--0 ...: U'1 62,520 0 e 0 49,703 U'1 ... -42,825 0 39,665 "' U'1 I "' 1935 '40 '45 '50 '54 '59 '64 '69 '74 '78 Year Figure 1. Nwnber of South Dakota Farms 1935-1978. Trend in Farm Size The average acreage per South Dakota farm has increased substan­tially to correspond with the decline in numbers. Between 1974 and 1978 the average farm size increased from 1,074 acres to 1,123 acres, almost 50 acres per farm. The 1978 average is 2� times larger than the average of 445 acres in 1935 (Fig. 2). During the interval from 1974 to 1978 we lost about 1.5 million acres of farm land. The state's total agricultural lands decreased from almost 46 million acres to 44.5 million acres. 3 4 Ul Ul (!) (!) Ul Ul Ul Ul Ul Ul Ul Ul '" '" u (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) u "' '" '" '" '" '" '" '" '" u u u u u u u u .., "' "' "' "' "' "' "' "' " " "' LI) LI) "' " "' LI) " " 0 .... "' " .... 0 .... "' . . " " " LI) "' "' " a, "' "' .... .... 1935 '40 '45 '50 '54 '59 '64 '69 '74 '78 Year Figure 2. Trend in Average Acreage for South Dakota Farms 1935-1978. FARM OPERATORS Since the number of farm opera­tors, according to the census, is equal to the number of farms, there were 39,665 farm operators in South Dakota as of 1978. The average age of farm opera­tors in South Dakota had been in­creasing gradually over time and reached a high of 50.1 years in 1974. In 1978, however, this trend reversed, with a significant drop of 1.6 years to the average of 48.5. The average in 1978 ranged from 46.0 in Moody County to 54.6 in Lawrence County. The number of farm operators under age 25 has continued upward. In 1978, this age group numbered 2,092, or 450 more than in 1974 (1,642). The 1974 total had been an increase of almost 400 over 1969. Thirty-eight percent of all operators in 1978 were under age 45 and 62% were over age 45 (Fig. 3), as compared to 33% and 66% respectively in 1974. Farm operators under 45 years of age numbered 14,956 in 1978 .­an increase 6f 1,000 over the 1974 figure but 1,510 less than that of 1969. Ownership The number of farm owners dropped from 1974 to 1978. Full owners de-creased from 40% of the total in 1974 to 38.8% in 1978, a drop from 17,300 to 15,385 (Fig. 4). Although part­owners increased from 15% to 16.1%, their numbers dropped from 19,182 to ( 17,884. The number of tenants changed little over that time. There were 6,939 tenants in 1978, only 53 more than in 1974. 25.2 24.4 16.9 15.5 12.6 5.3% under 25 25-34 35-44 44-54 55-64 over 55 Figure 3. Farm Operators by Age Group 1978. Types of Ownership The individual and family-owned farm dominated farm ownership. Of 39,665 South Dakota farms in 1978, 35,041 were owned by individuals or families; 3,602 were owned by part­nerships, including family partner­ships; 817 were owned by corporations, including family corporatio11s; and 205 were owned by cooperatives, estates or trusts, ins ti tut ions, etc. (Fig. 5) . Principal Occupation In 1978, 81% of farm operators considered farming their principal occupation (Table 1). Individual and Family 88.3% � Partnership 9.1% Corporation 2.1% 0.5% ,-..L����--,--�����.-���������--. 0 5 10 100% Percentage of Total Farms Figure 5. Type of Organization for Farms with Sales of $2,500 and Over in 1978. ( J ( '1 Figure 4. Profile of State's Agriculture: 1978. FARMS BY SIZE: 1 to 49 acres 9.7 50 to 179 acres 14.3 180 to 499 acres 27.5 500 to 999 acres 1,000 to 1,999 acres 2,000 acres or more FARMS BY VALUE OF LAND AND BUILDINGS: $1 to $19,999 $20,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $499,999 $500,000 or more FARMS BY VALUE OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT: $1 to $4,999 $5,000 to $9,999 $10,000 to $19,999 $20,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more OPERATORS BY TENURE: 22.6 15.1 10.8 - 4.1 �7.9 17.1 12.9 -=:i 5.8 13.3 I 16.8 30.2 20.4 13.4 Full owner Part owner Tenant I 38.8 VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS BY COMMODITY GROUP: Crops Livestock Poultry EXPENDITURES FOR ENERGY AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS: Gasoline Diesel oil Lp gas, butane Fuel oil Electricity Other I 1.4 - 5.3 • 1. 6 - 5.8 0 I 45.1 16.l 29.8 43.l 28.0 16.2 I I 20 40 -I1ail ====:]Area 58.0 68.8 I I 60 80 As Percent of Total Farms U.S. Department of Commerce BUREAU OF THE CENSUS: Adapted from Chart 2, pp XII & XIII, 1978 Census of Agriculture, South Dakota. Portion Sample 100 5 6 Table 1. Farmers and Outside Employment. # Principle Occupation: Farming 36, 821 Other than Farming 5, 403 Reported Off-Farm Work Days: Total Operators reporting 30, 747 Number of days: None 20, 541 Less than 100 100-199 200 or More Hired Workers There were 48, 498 hired workers on South Dakota farms in 1978, employ-2d by 41% of the state's farmers. This percentage is higher than the 1974 report of 33% but does not approach the 49% reached in 1969. CHARAC�ERISTICS OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMS Value of Land and Buildings For the last 35 years the U.S. 4, 341 1, 621 4, 244 Census of Agriculture has reported individual and composite worth of South Dakota farm land and buildings. Over that time the average farm's dollar value has increased over twenty times. The dollar increase in value from 1974 to 1978 was 88%. Among those factors contributing to increas­ed value are inflation, increased farm size, and technological and productiv­ity advancements. Mark A. Edelman, SDSU agricultur­al and public policy economist, con­tends that a big contribution to the rise in land values was the increase in exports during the 1970's. Farmers made more money, so they attempted to expand, thus bidding up the price of land. Average Value of Farm Land The average value of farm land in 1974 1978 % # % 85.9 32, 174 81.1 12.6 7, 491 18.8 36, 886 66. 8 22, 242 60. 3 14. 1 6, 417 17 .4 5.3 2, 142 5. 8 13. 8 6, 085 16. 5 South Dakota has tripled since 1969. In 1978 the average value per acre was $256, while 9 years earlier the aver­age was $84. The average farm was estimated to be worth $290, 657 in 1978, ranging in value per acre from a low of $86 in Shannon County to a high of $868 in Lincoln County. Change in Class of Farms A major farm classification in the U.S. Census of Agriculture is the value of agricultural products sold by farms. Increased farm size, impr?ved agricultural technology, and national inflation have all contributed to an increase in the value of farm products sold. Table 2 presents a breakdown. Irrigated Acres In the 4 years from 1974 to 1978, irrigation in South Dakota has soared. Irrigated acreage rose 124%, from 152, 203 acres in 1974 to 341, 110 in 1978. The number of farms using irriga­tion in 1978 was 1, 817. This is 745 more than in 1974 when there had been an increase of only 9 over 1969. Looking Ahead We can use these findings to make projections into the future. Edelman, I ( I � ( ( Table 2. Number of Farms by Value of Agricultural Products Sold. Value of Products Sold: # $200,000 and over 677 100,000 to 199,999 1,903 40,000 to 9,999 9,804 20,000 to 39,999 11, 456 10,000 to 19,999 8,236 5,000 to 9,999 4,877 2,500 to 4,999 2,565 less than 2,500 3,231 not categorized 76 TOTAL: 42,825 Average dollar value for farms with sales of $2,500 plus $41,544 for example, has taken two factors: 1) trend in number of farms and 2) age of farm operators. He projects that by the year 2000 there will be about 30,000 farms in South Dakota. Farm size will have increased and the number of operators will have dropped. The number of operators in any year is the balance between rates of entrance and exit. The annual entry number of young farmers during the 70's was about 700. Although this was an increase from the 500 yearly aver­age of the previous decade, it falls short of the 1,200 farm operators in older age groups who have been leaving each year. Edelman points out that "to stabilize South Dakota farm num­bers at current levels, 500 additional entrants per year would be required to offset the exit rate of senior farmers."t tEconomics Newsletter #176, Coopera­tive Extension Service, December 3, 1981. 1974 1978 % # 96 1. 6 982 2.5 4.4 2,633 6. 6 22.9 10,750 27. l 26.8 9,482 23.9 19.2 6,413 16. 2 11.4 4,036 10.2 6.0 2,594 6 r:-. _, 7. 5 2,665 6. 7 0.2 110 0.3 100 96 39, 66.5 100 % $51,464 Looking at current age categor­ies, we see that the proportion of operators now over 45 who will be over 65 by the year 2 000 is 63% while the number of current operators under 45 is 38%. Thus, even with a sustained entry rate of 700 young farmers per year, replacement of those leaving farming will not be accomplished. Edelman's projection of 30,000 farms and farm operators in the year 2000 is in line with the trend of declining numbers which has persisted since the early 30's. If depressed economic conditions continue over much of the 1980's the 30,000 estimate may be too high. The implications demand the attention of all South Dakotans interested in farming. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Deborah Crotchett, research assistant in rural sociology, in the preparation of this publication. 7 Table 3. Characteristics of South Dakota Farms and Farm Operators by County, 1978. Average Average farm Average value Land Farms with Number size age of land & in farm Harvested sales over Full of farms acres operator bld9:s* acres cropland $40,000 Owners State 39,665 1,123 48.5 $ 256 44,543,394 13,932,760 14,365 15,320 Aurora 501 774 49.1 $283 387,806 174,586 200 161 Beadle 933 810 47.5 301 755,945 363,564 348 327 Bennett 298 2,695 50.3 155 803,051 120,544 124 123 , l Bon Honune 879 369 47.9 455 324,255 205,250 302 341 Brookings 1,113 418 48.8 557 465,010 294,227 382 508 I Brown 1,235 870 48.4 371 1,074,222 618,053 484 410 Brule 455 1,012 50.5 232 460,421 184,718 192 191 Buffalo 101 3,148 51.6 156 317,904 61,980 45 46 Butte 487 2,563 49.3 140 1,248,042 107,866 219 270 Campbell 381 1,119 48.2 210 426,219 173,930 134 142 Charles Mix 922 691 46.4 312 637,374 334 ,130 380 278 Clark 713 803 48.7 297 572, 310 278,202 208 252 Clay 609 385 49.2 836 234,608 178,996 280 195 Codington 699 553 48.5 359 386,862 224,868 229 302 Corson 489 3,193 48.3 131 1,561,434 237,342 157 152 Custer 272 1,931 54.2 173 525,278 31,519 48 146 Davison 508 521 48.4 394 264,631 155,031 201 202 Day 851 702 48.6 304 597,737 322 ,611 264 329 Deuel 747 474 47.0 433 353,732 194,329 259 347 Dewey 372 4,314 48.7 163 1,604,780 166,175 126 148 Douglas 530 500 46.0 406 264,952 162,298 239 182 Edmunds 563 1,183 48.5 244 665,829 313, 716 214 200 Fall River 307 3,289 51.4 127 1,009,735 61,199 100 142 Faulk 399 1,500 48.1 233 598,346 253,323 184 118 Grant 735 515 48.8 386 378,306 214,083 255 305 Gregory 689 1,070 50.2 268 737,551 227,155 221 266 Haakon 313 3, 712 49.0 155 1,161,744 194,246 134 136 Hamlin 581 504 48.8 453 292,976 183,913 188 215 Hand 650 1,336 49.6 257 868,405 353,513 279 248 Hanson 462 543 48.7 406 250,706 148,619 154 172 Harding 308 5,216 50.6 136 1,606,676 144,987 153 89 Hughes 244 1,499 48.0 279 365,672 132,286 91 85 Hutchinson 1,120 440 47 .4. 473 492,767 319,349 460 370 Hyde 246 2,141 48.9 178 526,643 135,616 88 98 Jackson 154 3,293 52.6 118 507,156 72,618 64 80 Jerauld 362 877 47.6 241 317,480 127,290 119 143 Jones 222 2,451 48.8 179 544 ,117 113, 980 85 79 Kingsbury 768 637 48.3 415 489,129 271, 578 248 259 Lake 753 433 48.8 518 326,174 209,829 270 296 Lawrence 257 889 54.6 398 228,527 34,343 43 157 Lincoln 1,187 282 48.5 865 334,527 250,167 403 490 Lyman 437 2,186 52.2 218 955,090 220,316 193 174 McCook 792 434 47.7 459 343,401 212,488 274 270 McPherson 522 1,205 48.2 213 629,207 271,958 193 182 Marshall 551 906 47.6 322 499,240 253,147 173 177 Meade 772 2, 711 51.5 155 1,957,040 235,159 260 343 Mellette 250 2,827 49.9 141 706,681 82,592 97 64 Miner 546 599 47.4 301 327,290 168,398 151 175 Minnehaha 1,490 300 48.5 820 446,339 312,627 539 641 Moody 782 382 46.0 784 298,459 208,156 366 275 Pennington, 570 1,963 52.7 149 1,118,948 142,396 150 324 Perkins 645 2,674 51.0 127 1, 724, 613 276, 389 230 300 Potter 365 1,479 48.4 303 540,003 220,188 149 107 Roberts 1,112 548 47.2 397 609,087 357,238 348 394 Sanborn 493 632 48.7 314 311, 736 142,866 126 174 Shannon 155 7,761 51.0 86 1,202,945 41,853 59 73 Spink 897 1,042 48.2 336 934,916 515,602 403 249 Stanley 177 5,254 50.0 173 929,879 138,612 81 73 Sully 314 1,913 45.8 298 600,633 283,937 133 78 Todd 250 4,279 50.l 158 1,069,714 101,976 91 91 Tripp 772 1,274 48. 4 224 983,306 326,839 332 261 Turner 1,155 321 48.3 687 370,745 266,104 463 427 Union 783 336 48.3 837 263,213 199,950 366 305 Walworth 416 1,100 49.0 236 457,662 191,040 151 144 Washabaugh 130 5,336 53.8 94 693,683 51,087 59 60 Yankton 788 343 49.6 576 270, 578 176,651 273 373 Ziebach 212 5,702 48.4 139 1,208,881 96,341 89 62 *Based on Sample Source: 1978 U.S. Census of Agriculture, State and County Data, South Dakota, Final Report 

Farm Facts, Population Update, Report Number 6

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Farm Facts, Population Update, Report Number 6

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