HEMPHQ COUNTY RESEARCH PILOT · SOUTH DAKOTA
A practical, source-linked starting point for planning fiber or grain production. Find the right offices, understand the jurisdiction questions, and verify your specific parcel before you spend money.
START HERE · THE PARCEL MATTERS
Minnehaha County publishes county and joint zoning ordinances. A property's location may place it under county, city, or joint-jurisdiction rules. We have not established that industrial hemp cultivation is allowed by right in any specific zoning district or parcel. Ask planning staff for a written determination using the property address or parcel number.
LOCAL REQUIREMENTS · SOURCE REVIEWED
The county Planning Department manages land use in unincorporated areas. Ask for the parcel's zoning district, whether hemp cultivation is treated as an agricultural use, and whether a zoning permit, conditional use approval or other authorization is required.
County planning office ↗The county publishes separate joint zoning ordinances involving Sioux Falls and Dell Rapids. If your land is inside a municipality or joint area, confirm which ordinance and planning authority controls. Current South Dakota law also calls for municipal verification for cultivation within incorporated limits, subject to the 2027 transition.
County and joint zoning ordinances ↗Growing a crop, installing a processing facility, constructing a building, and storing materials may involve different land uses and permits. Ask separately about structures, access, floodplain, onsite wastewater and industrial processing before committing to a facility.
County building information ↗Provide the parcel number, intended acreage, crop purpose (fiber/grain), proposed structures, processing activities and planting year. Request the applicable ordinance section and any required application or permit. A general agricultural zoning label alone is not a hemp-specific clearance.
County zoning explanation (PDF) ↗STATE REQUIREMENTS · PUBLISHED DANR GUIDANCE
South Dakota DANR's currently published hemp program describes a grower application, background checks, approval and licensing, planting verification and sampling. The state's published statute includes cultivation minimums and municipal verification requirements. These are state rules, not a Minnehaha County zoning determination. Confirm applicability for the intended year, especially 2027 onward.
Confirm the current licensing authority; ask whether the intended parcel, crop type and applicant qualify; verify the application, background check and municipal requirements.
DANR industrial hemp program ↗DANR's published program describes planting verification within 30 days after planting and pre-harvest sampling requirements. Confirm the reporting, testing, movement and harvest windows before scheduling field work.
DANR forms and reports ↗COST PLANNING · STATE FEES, NOT COUNTY FEES
*Arithmetic illustration only. Does not include background checks, land, seed, buildings, testing, transport, or other costs. County permits and fees depend on the specific proposed activity and parcel. These published state fees may change with the January 2027 legal transition. No county hemp-specific fee is claimed.
Confirm current DANR program and fees ↗YOUR FIRST ACTIONS
Saved in this browser on this device. A checked box records your planning progress, not a legal approval.
OFFICIAL SOURCE DIRECTORY
Source review: October 10, 2026. County office, ordinance index and zoning guidance reviewed; this is not a legal interpretation of every ordinance. Not yet verified: parcel-specific hemp permissibility, required local permits, local fees, municipality/joint-jurisdiction determinations and future 2027 procedures. These need direct confirmation.