Every rent NASS published here
- Down $3 (−8.8%) from 2025
- 78% below the South Dakota average ($140)
- Coefficient of variation: 6.1%
- Down $3 (−16.7%) from 2025
- 52% below the South Dakota average ($31)
- Coefficient of variation: 6.5%
| Land type | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-irrigated cropland | $33 | $34 | $31 |
| Pasture | $17 | $18 | $15 |
— means NASS did not publish a county estimate that year (too few reports, or withheld to protect respondents). We never fill the gap.
Meade County against the counties that touch it
Non-irrigated cropland, 2026. The 5 bordering counties with a published rent average $39 an acre, so Meade County sits 20% below its neighbors.
| # | County | $/acre | vs Meade | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haakon County | $53.50 | +$22.50 | +7.0% |
| 2 | Butte County | $40 | +$9 | −29.2% |
| 3 | Perkins County | $39 | +$8 | −6.0% |
| 4 | Pennington County | $37 | +$6 | −1.3% |
| 5 | Meade County | $31 | — | −8.8% |
| 6 | Lawrence County | $25 | −$6 | −13.8% |
In the NASS West Central district, Meade County ranks #5 of 6 on non-irrigated cropland rent.
Can your crop budget carry $31?
The county average is what tenants paid, not what the ground can earn. Plug in your own yield, price and costs to see the most rent your budget supports, and how that compares with the 2026 non-irrigated cropland average for Meade County. The starting values are a generic corn example, not Meade County figures. Replace them.
Run your numbers
Example values are loaded to show how the tool works. Replace every field with your own records or planning assumptions. Nothing entered here leaves your browser.
What the assumptions produce
Residual after non-land costs and target return.
Per-acre ceiling multiplied by rented acres.
Calculated rent ceiling as a share of crop revenue.
Yield revenue plus other entered revenue.
Compare your result with the Meade County non-irrigated cropland average.
More West Central district counties
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Illinois Farmland Rents Fall as Farm Costs Tighten
Cropland rents have dipped for a second consecutive year in Illinois, offering renters brief relief as input costs and debt pressure squeeze farm finances across the Corn Belt.
Where these numbers come from
- Every rent on these pages is a published estimate from the USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey: the average cash rent paid per acre for non-irrigated cropland, irrigated cropland and pasture. We pull the 2024–2026 county and state series straight from Quick Stats.
- NASS skips counties with too few survey reports, or withholds them to protect respondents, and lumps them into an "other counties" total. Those counties get no page here, and missing years show as a dash. We do not estimate, average or interpolate around the gaps.
- The coefficient of variation (CV) is NASS's measure of sampling precision. Lower is tighter; the higher the CV, the wider the real range around the county figure.
- "Bordering counties" are the ones that share a boundary under the Census Bureau county adjacency file, including across state lines.
- An average rent is a benchmark, not a fair price for a specific field. Soil, drainage, fertility, improvements and lease terms all move the number.
Data last refreshed October 8, 2026.