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Harding County, SD

Cattle prices near Harding County, South Dakota. The closest sale barn with a recent report is St. Onge SD in St. Onge, SD, about 74 miles away. On Nov 13, 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) averaged $454.80 per hundredweight on 608 head (USDA). Check a bid against your own costs with Ring Price.

Check a bid with Ring Price

Change county
CRP emergency haying & grazing: Harding County is on FSA's list (since Sep 1, 2026). Check with your FSA county office first. Details · FSA list as of Nov 5, 2026.
Drought ModerateD1 · most of county Drought pay (LFP) Eligibleup to 4 payments Burn ban Checkcall the county St. Onge SD 5-wt steers $455▲ $18 since last sale

Harding County rain, outlook and forecast

As of the Nov 10 Drought Monitor, most of Harding County, SD was in moderate drought (D1), with a sliver (<1%) at extreme drought (D3), and D2-or-worse drought has held there 16 weeks running. Rain has run 34% of normal over the last 30 days (well below normal); the NWS forecast peaks at a 52% rain chance on Friday (high 39°) and the 6-10 day outlook for Nov 20–24 leans wetter than normal (40% chance of above-normal rain). Harding County is on FSA's 2026 LFP list with up to 4 monthly payments, and St. Onge SD is the closest USDA-reported sale barn at 74 miles.

Rain vs normal

  • Last 30 days 34% of normal
  • Last 60 days not read yet
  • Last 90 days not read yet

NOAA river forecast center rain (radar plus gauges) at the county center, Nov 15, 2026. Source.

Rain outlook

  • 6-10 day outlook (Nov 20–24) Leans wetter than normal (40% chance of above-normal rain)
  • 8-14 day outlook (Nov 22–28) Leans toward near-normal rain

NOAA Climate Prediction Center precipitation outlook, issued Nov 14, 2026. Source.

Next 7 days

  1. Today Sunny, high 58°, low 32°, 0% rain, wind 5–10 mph
  2. Monday Mostly Sunny, high 60°, low 35°, 0% rain, wind 2–8 mph
  3. Tuesday Mostly Sunny, high 55°, low 33°, 9% rain, wind 2–9 mph
  4. Wednesday Slight Chance Light Rain, high 41°, low 26°, 18% rain, wind 8–37 mph
  5. Thursday Partly Sunny, high 38°, low 28°, 12% rain, wind 3–15 mph
  6. Friday Chance Light Rain then Chance Rain And Snow, high 39°, low 25°, 52% rain, wind 6–21 mph
  7. Saturday Chance Light Snow, high 36°, low 21°, 27% rain, wind 6–22 mph

National Weather Service forecast for the county center, updated Nov 15, 2026. Wind, warnings and burn bans.

PRF pasture insurance: sign up by Dec 1, 2026

The 2027 Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance sales closing date for Harding County is Dec 1, 2026, 16 days from today. PRF (Rainfall Index) pays on a rainfall index for your grid, not on your own rain gauge. You buy it through a crop insurance agent.

How PRF works · PRF 2027 sign-up · Find your grid on RMA's PRF tool

Date from USDA RMA's actuarial data, read Aug 28, 2026 · RMA dates map. Your agent confirms the date for your policy.

Harding County grass production

In 2025, grassland and pasture in Harding County grew about 1,527 pounds per acre of grass and forbs, 126% of the county's 1991-2020 normal of 1,208 pounds per acre. That was the 6th best of 40 years on record (1986-2025). Best year: 2015 at 1,608 pounds per acre; worst: 2002 at 684.

Pounds per acre of new grass and forbs each year on rangeland and pasture, from the Rangeland Analysis Platform (satellite-based estimates). See every year on the Land tab.

Open loss windows

No open loss windows in Harding County right now. A 30-day window opens when the county first hits severe drought (D2), jumps to D3 or D4, or after a blizzard, extreme heat or cold, flood or ice warning, a wildfire, or a USDA disaster designation. Keep a Drought Ledger.

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Cownty sends nothing to FSA.

Drought-sale tax flag IRS list

Harding County is on IRS Notice 2026-54 (severe or worse drought, Sep 1, 2025 to Aug 31, 2026).

Why it matters: if you sold breeding, dairy or draft livestock because of drought, the tax code may let you put off the gain (more time to buy replacement animals, or report the extra-sale income a year later). Your tax preparer decides whether either applies.

Work out your numbers and print a page for your preparer

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. Ask your tax preparer. FSA decides program eligibility. IRS Notice 2026-54 (PDF)

Next 7 days · National Weather Service

Weather for Harding County

Forecast for the center point of Harding County.

  • Freeze on 5 nights
  • Windy on 1 day
  1. Today Sunny 58° 32° W 5–10 mph 0% rain
  2. Mon Mostly Sunny 60° 35° S 2–8 mph 0% rain
  3. Tue Mostly Sunny 55° 33° SW 2–9 mph 9% rain
  4. Wed Slight Chance Light Rain 41° 26° W 8–37 mph 18% rain
  5. Thu Partly Sunny 38° 28° S 3–15 mph 12% rain
  6. Fri Chance Light Rain then Chance Rain And Snow 39° 25° N 6–21 mph 52% rain
  7. Sat Chance Light Snow 36° 21° NW 6–22 mph 27% rain

Forecast from the National Weather Service, updated Nov 15, 2026. Wind arrows point where the wind is going; the letters say where it comes from. Windy = 25 mph or more; freeze = a low of 32°F or less. Open the full forecast.

Burn ban

Data pending. Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for South Dakota; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices

No official ban list to check here, so Cownty shows the National Weather Service fire-weather alerts for the county instead: none right now.

Guide: Burn bans: where to check and what they mean

Weather warnings right now

None right now

National Weather Service active alerts for this county, as of Nov 15, 2026 (source). Fetched Nov 15, 2026.

Rainfall vs normal

Oct 2026
0.37 in 27% of normal
Last 12 months
13.23 in 83%
How to read this

Bars are the rain that fell each month; the dashed line is a normal month (1991-2020 average). Bars below the line = drier than normal.

County-average precipitation, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026. Normal = NCEI's own 1991-2020 average for each month (Oct 2026 normal 1.38 in; same month last year 3.26 in). NCEI posts each month around the 8th of the next and may revise recent months. Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance. Fetched Nov 14, 2026.

Wildfires

No current fire perimeter in the county

No current perimeter within 100 mi of the county center (48 mapped nationally).

See the fire map

Interagency fire outlines. Small or brand-new fires are often not mapped yet; call 911 for a fire you can see. Layer updated Nov 15, 2026. Source: National Interagency Fire Center. Fetched Nov 15, 2026.

Frost dates

Frost and freeze dates

30-year averages (1991–2020) from the weather stations nearest Harding County. Frost = 32°F; hard freeze = 28°F.

Buffalo Asos weather station (4 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
141-day growing season
 May 10
1 year in 10 it's after May 23
 Oct 1
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 16
Hard freeze (28°F)
160-day growing season
 May 1
1 year in 10 it's after May 14
 Oct 8
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 23

Ludlow 3 Sse weather station (14 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
131-day growing season
 May 16
1 year in 10 it's after May 29
 Sep 26
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 9
Hard freeze (28°F)
150-day growing season
 May 6
1 year in 10 it's after May 19
 Oct 4
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 17

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Buffalo Asos, Ludlow 3 Sse), NOAA files as of Jun 27, 2023. Fetched Nov 11, 2026.

Text me Harding County changes

Nearest USDA-reported sale barns

  1. St. Onge Livestock Ltd St. Onge, SD 74 mi · sells Fridays · latest USDA report Nov 13, 2026
  2. Stockmen's Livestock Exchange (feeder cattle) Dickinson, ND 95 mi · sells Thursdays · latest USDA report Nov 12, 2026
  3. Miles City Livestock Commission Miles City, MT 127 mi · sells Tuesdays · latest USDA report Nov 10, 2026
  4. Philip Livestock Auction Philip, SD 139 mi · sells Tuesdays · latest USDA report Nov 10, 2026
  5. Mobridge Livestock Exchange Mobridge, SD 147 mi · sells Thursdays · latest USDA report Nov 12, 2026

Miles are straight-line from the county center. Sale days come from the barns' recent USDA AMS reports; call the barn to confirm. All barns

Printable county brief (PDF) · Everything on one page · Hay prices in South Dakota

Common questions and nearby counties

Is Harding County eligible for LFP in 2026?

Yes. Harding County is on FSA's 2026 Livestock Forage Disaster Program county list, with up to 4 monthly payments for some pasture types. FSA decides each operation's eligibility; apply at your county FSA office by March 1 after the loss year.

Source: FSA LFP county file of Nov 5, 2026

What is the drought level in Harding County this week?

On the Drought Monitor map of Nov 10, 2026, most of Harding County was in moderate drought (D1), and the worst part was extreme drought (D3) on a sliver (<1%) of the county. 16 straight weeks with some severe drought (D2) or worse.

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, map of Nov 10, 2026

Is there a burn ban in Harding County?

No official statewide list to check: Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for South Dakota; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices.

What sale barns are near Harding County?

The nearest USDA-reported sale barns: St. Onge SD (74 mi), last report Nov 13, 2026; Dickinson ND (95 mi), last report Nov 12, 2026; Miles City MT (127 mi), last report Nov 10, 2026.

Source: USDA AMS Market News reports

What are the upcoming FSA and farm deadlines?

Next: Nov 20, 2026: Micro Farm 2027: last day to buy crop insurance; Nov 20, 2026: Whole Farm Revenue Protection 2027: last day to buy crop insurance. FSA program dates not posted officially are marked "confirm at source" on the calendar.

Source: official agency pages (see Calendar)

Information only; not financial or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Always check the linked official source.