Harvest is one of the busiest and most demanding times of year for farmers. To help understand how their efforts help to feed us all, let’s take a look at the work that gets accomplished in a short window of time.
No two farms operate exactly alike. Labor availability, equipment, field conditions, soil characteristics and management practices can all affect how harvest unfolds. Despite those differences, crop farmers share a common goal: harvesting safely and efficiently while producing enough to sustain their farm.
Corn yields vary considerably from year to year and across South Dakota. According to South Dakota State University Extension, the statewide average reached a record 171 bushels per acre in 2025, up from 164 bushels per acre in 2024. Yields also varied significantly because of differences in soil quality, weather and management practices.
Using the 2025 statewide average, consider the amount of corn produced by a hypothetical 40-acre field:
Now, consider those numbers on the scale of an entire farm. The USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture found that the average South Dakota farm encompasses 1,495 acres. If that entire acreage were planted in corn and yielded 171 bushels per acre, it would produce 255,645 bushels.
Most South Dakota farms include a mix of crops, pasture and other land uses, so this is not intended to represent an average farm’s actual corn production. It does, however, illustrate how quickly the work of harvesting, hauling and storing grain can add up.
Time and weather add to the pressure. In Sioux Falls, for example, the amount of daylight decreases from approximately 11 hours and 43 minutes on Oct. 1 to about 10 hours and 18 minutes on Oct. 31. Rain can also bring harvest to a halt when wet or muddy fields become difficult or unsafe for heavy equipment to navigate.
These calculations represent only one simplified example: every farm, field and harvest is different, but the scale of the work taking place across South Dakota each fall is immense, as farmers look to provide food and fuel for us all. Thousands of bushels must be harvested, transported and stored, often within a narrow window shaped by weather, equipment and daylight.
The next time you pass a cornfield or see harvest underway, remember that bringing in the crop involves much more than operating a combine. It requires careful coordination, repeated trips to storage with full loads of grain, and long hours to move an entire season’s work from the field to storage.