South Dakota
Hot topics in agriculture discussed at South Dakota Governor’s Agricultural Summit
HURON, S.D. — The South Dakota Governor’s Agricultural Summit was held June 12 and 13 at the South Dakota State Fairgrounds in Huron, South Dakota. Industry and business leaders from across the state came together to discuss pressing issues within agriculture and shed some light on the state’s No. 1 industry.
“We do (agriculture) better than anybody else in the world and we do it better in South Dakota than anybody else in the country. We have, in South Dakota, more cows per people than any other state. So that’s a good thing to maintain,” South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem told the audience. “We like that about 95% of our South Dakota farms are still family owned and family operated, which is something I’m very proud of. And ag contributes over $32 billion to our economy in our state. About 30% of our economic output comes from the agriculture industry. When ag prospers, all of South Dakota prospers.”
Noem made an appearance to present the 2024 Governor’s Ag Ambassador award to this year’s recipient and longtime WNAX radio newsman, Jerry Oster, from Yankton, South Dakota. Noem also highlighted the importance of the work that goes into agricultural policy and how that affects the state’s farmers and ranchers.
“I’ve been working on policy for over 30 years and for me, it’s been a very different type of discussion than I think some people have when they look at ag policy. From my time first serving on committees and working on commissions in Washington, D.C., in my twenties, it’s been a national security issue,” Noem said. “One of the things I would hope that when we leave here, we remember the bigger goal is that it’s about how we feed the world and that’s important. We also have our policies, our programs, farm bills, in place to keep a safety net out there so that we have a lot of farmers and ranchers that can be successful and keep our No. 1 industry strong and safe.”
Beth Thompson, South Dakota’s state veterinarian and executive secretary of the South Dakota Animal Industry Board, presented an update on the highly pathogenic avian influenza, highlighting the impact on both poultry and dairy farms.
Kennedy Tesch / Agweek
“In South Dakota, it’s been some months since we’ve seen highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry, which is good because we just made it through the spring migratory season,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, we are seeing avian influenza in dairy and we’ve had five sites here in the state of South Dakota. The animal industry board is working very closely with those dairy farmers and their veterinarians and hopefully, we’ll be at the end of the cases and move forward into the summer.”
Thompson said in mitigating spreading of the virus, biosecurity becomes king.
“Biosecurity is important because you want to keep whatever disease you may have on your site, on your site and not share it with your neighbors,” she said. “But you also want to keep anything off your site, too. So things like watching your visitors, making sure that nobody’s coming on your site unless you know about it, making sure that you’re watching your animals and working with your veterinarian very closely in case you see anything going on with your herd or flock.”
Kennedy Tesch / Agweek
The impacts of trade on South Dakota’s economy fueled a panel discussion led by Luke Lindberg, president and CEO of South Dakota Trade, with Jerry Schmitz, executive director of South Dakota Soybean, Dennis Harstad, general manager of Houdek, and Cesar Garcia Arevalo, export sales and marketing manager for Advanced Sunflower, participating.
Kennedy Tesch / Agweek
“South Dakota is a prolific exporter of agricultural products. It’s $5 billion a year, roughly speaking, and our state only exports about $7 billion of goods and services. So agriculture is definitely our No. 1 export product. When we look at it in comparison to states all across the country, we’re actually the second highest per capita ag exporter,” Lindberg said. “A lot of those markets are overseas, 96% of the world’s population lives outside the United States, 4% live in the United States. So those are the markets we’re trying to position them for and find ways to sell their products.”
While businesses and organizations work to secure new markets for agricultural products, Elaine Kub, a market economist based in South Dakota, said that going into 2024 and 2025, the outlook is “looking a little less sunny this year than it has in some of the previous years.”
While Kub pointed out that the frustrating part about markets is that producers really have no control over the prices, she mentioned some steps they can take to get through this period of low markets.
Kennedy Tesch / Agweek
“They have to make decisions for their own costs of production, and we can try and bring that down. Land prices are a big piece of that and interest rates, how much interest you’re paying for land or any other input is a big piece of that. Of course, we don’t have any control over interest rates, but we have control over spending patterns or borrowing patterns, she said. “Operational decisions like that can make a difference and also marketing — you can be kind of smart about marketing grain ahead of time and seasons of the year that tend to typically have higher seasonal prices than those harvest time prices.”
Despite the low commodity prices, Hunter Roberts, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, remains optimistic.
Kennedy Tesch / Agweek
“We have plenty of challenges like every state, every industry, but agriculture itself is in a great spot,” Roberts said. “We need to continue to move forward. Commodity price wise, we’re down a little bit but moisture wise, we’re looking pretty good. We have a good crop in the ground, so I’m very optimistic about the future of agriculture. I think things are looking up.”
The Governor’s Ag Summit continued on June 13 for day two with presentations on the history of the South Dakota State Fair, touring a nearby Spink Hutterite colony and Kasemeister Creamery and a concert in the DEX building on the fairgrounds featuring country music artist, Thomas Rhett.
South Dakota
Rep. Dusty Johnson backs Senator Rounds push for investigation into mail service in South Dakota
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -Congressman Dusty Johnson is backing Senator Mike Round’s push for an investigation in postal service delays in South Dakota.
Johnson took to social media saying Senator Mike Rounds was right to ask for an investigation into postal service delays in South Dakota. Rounds had previously sent a letter to the postal service’s inspector general asking for her to find the cause of mail delays in South Dakota. Rounds said in his letter he has heard from hundreds of constituents across South Dakota. Johnson opened up with KOTA Territory News about his support for the investigation.
“I think the postal service is a terrible disaster,” said Johnson.
Johnson noted that in the past the service did what he said was a pretty good job. Johnson says despite sending letters and making phone calls with the postal service, he has not gotten any answers.
“I have asked if I can come down to one of their facilities, get a tour so I can better understand what’s going on behind the walls. They have refused to even let me, a member of congress, come learn about how they conduct their business. And so, this appears to be an enterprise that A, is not improving, B, isn’t communicating why there, why there failing and C doesn’t even appear to be particularly interested in getting better,” explained Johnson.
Rounds has pointed to the problem as being that mail traveling across or into South Dakota taking indirect routes. Rounds previously took a meeting with the postmaster general however the senator appears not satisfied with the outcome.
Rounds wrote in part in his letter, “I expressed my concerns about this to the Postmaster General (PMG) Steiner who downplayed such issue existed in South Dakota.”
In a letter sent to Rounds in October, Postmaster General David Steiner said that fixing issues at central region plants in Chicago, St Louis and Kansas City will likely improve outcomes and that at the time it was something the USPS was actively working on. The postmaster general acknowledged poor performance for first class mail at the beginning of the year and mid-summer but noted that it has since improved. During the week ending September 19th for South Dakota’s postal district, about %93 percent of first-class mail was delivered on time and roughly %97 percent was delivered within one day of its expected arrival. The postmaster general said he wanted to focus on the %3 percent that’s not getting to its destination on time.
“It may be only a small percentage of the mail, but because we deliver hundreds of millions of pieces each day nationally, the raw number is large,” wrote Steiner.
Steiner emphasized that some mail in South Dakota has always left the state for processing before going to another part of the state. The postmaster general explained that some mail requires certain sorting equipment and therefor some mail travels to plants with the right equipment.
The postmaster general also maintained in his letter that mail going to and from the same area in South Dakota is not leaving the state.
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Step inside a few of South Dakota’s most iconic steakhouses, where the baked potatoes are foil-wrapped and the wood-fired grill is crackling.
Don’t mess with South Dakota’s red meat.
With some of the best, high-quality cattle in the country raised right here in the Mt. Rushmore state, you’ll easily find a ribeye nearby.
But not all steaks are the same. We compared the cut, the prep and the presentation and narrowed down a few of our favorite steakhouses for our carnivores.
Hartford Steak Co. Tavern
The concept for a small and affordable menu began with a burger sold for a nickel by Diane Friese’s great-grandfather in the 1920s. A family tradition untouched over the decades, you can still buy a filet mignon for an easy $15 at the Hartford Steak Co. today. But that’s about it. The filets are sized up to 24 ounces, then there’s steak tips or a hot beef sandwich to choose from. All come with a crisp, cold lettuce wedge, baked potato, and warm French bread. On the weekends, they spice it up with a $20 prime rib dinner (meaning the filets are off the menu, only one choice for you). Order a margarita on the side and enjoy a no-fuss night.
The Hartford Steakhouse has a second location in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Details: 709 N. Mundt Ave., Hartford, S.D., 605-528-6185, hartfordsteakcotavern.com.
Morrie’s Steakhouse
It’s giving Old Hollywood glam, some soft jazz and extravagance. Namesake Morrie Richards was a humble farmer from Ipswich, South Dakota, but Mama taught the family hospitality, and now the steakhouse is an experience for families and business diners. Steak is the star, but what comes with it elevates the night. Shared sides include loaded hash browns or smoked pork mac, and steak accompaniments include a 75-day-old cave-aged blue cheese slab or a three-day veal demi-glaze. Morrie’s honors community ranchers as well, bringing to the table local grass-fed butcher cuts and bone-in Tomahawk wagyu ribeyes.
Details: 2507 S. Shirley Ave., Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-362-8125, morriessteakhouse.com.
Mad Mary’s
Along the Big Sioux River in South Dakota is Mad Mary’s Steakhouse, a classic mom-and-pop in Flandreau, South Dakota, that’s been attracting hunters for more than 30 years. It’s changed hands a few times, but has been led now by Christina Ramos since 2018, who served at Mad Mary’s for more than a decade. She’s got a “secret seasoning” in the kitchen for her prime rib and sirloins, but come for the Butcher’s Trio to try it all: a plate of beef, chicken and pork served with a twice-baked potato and buttered toast for $50.
Mad Mary’s has a second location in Pierre, South Dakota, under different ownership, where you get a free T-shirt if you order a margarita. Size up after all that hearty South Dakota beef.
Details: 306 N. Veterans St., Flandreau, S.D., 605-997-9901, madmaryssteakhouse.com.
Ironwood Steakhouse
A bespoke contemporary experience in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Minneapolis-based restaurateurs of Ironwood Steakhouse bring to town their crisp white linens, sparkly chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Big Sioux River and Falls Park.
The maître d wears a suit and tie, so maybe you should, too.
The two-story, upscale supper club brings in its prime-aged beef from Snake River Farms in Idaho and cooks over coals for that unmistakable sear. Try the eight-ounce wagyu Zabuton, steak tartare or the steak Diane: an eight-ounce teres major cut with mushroom cream sauce.
Then return for their mushroom pierogis, rabbit stroganoff or even just an espresso martini at the bar, served with your own picture printed atop the foam.
A toast to our steak victors.
Details: 150 E. Fourth Place, Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-937-0280, ironwoodsf.com.
Delmonico Grill
Another for the upscale diners, Delmonico Grill in Rapid City, South Dakota, has been serving its in-house, dry-aged “Kona” Hawaiian style ribeye for nearly 20 years. It’s classic steakhouse fare in a comfortable atmosphere: Choose from intimate booths or red velvet benches, with a view of downtown Main Street always abuzz.
Details: 609 Main St., Rapid City, S.D., 605-791-1664, delmonicogrill.com.
Did we miss your favorite steakhouse? Drop us a line at ageorge@usatodayco.com with details.
Angela George is the trending news reporter for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, part of the USA TODAY Co. network. Email ageorge@usatodayco.com.
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