South Dakota

Processing wild game still a challenge for South Dakota hunters

Published

1 year ago

December 1, 2024

Processing wild game still a challenge for South Dakota hunters

PIEDMONT, S.D. (South Dakota News Watch) – Earlier this year, well before big-game hunting season began in South Dakota, Josh Clark invested time and money into expanding his wild-game processing capabilities to take advantage of high demand for the service.

As the number of commercial and self-employed meat cutters willing to process wild game in South Dakota has dwindled, Clark saw an opportunity in 2024 to profit off the trend at Cutting Edge Meat Market in Piedmont, where he is the manager.

Prior to hunting season, he added another skinning station, expanded capacity to hang and move animals and created more refrigeration space. He also did some summer advertising to let hunters know he is still taking in deer, elk and other large animal carcasses for full-service processing into steak, burgers and sausages.

“I don’t know if it’s just the lack of processors still out there, but we’re up 30% to 40% over last year in terms of animal drop-offs,” Clark told News Watch last week. “We’re slammed right now.”

Clark said he recently contacted several other West River meat shops and found that no one he spoke to is taking in whole deer or other game for processing.

Skinned deer carcasses hang in a cooler at the Cutting Edge Meat Market in Piedmont, S.D., in November 2023.(Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch)

Butchers who still take full deer carcasses said other processors who no longer take wild game or require it to be deboned first may be facing worker shortages, have higher expenses that cut into profitability or simply do not want the hassle of dealing with wild game processing that often occurs one customer with one animal at a time and creates a mad rush of business each fall.

The month of November – the heart of the deer hunting season in South Dakota – is always busy for butchers who process wild game, as hunters bring in tens of thousands of deer and antelope shot with rifles or bow and arrow. In 2023, South Dakota hunters killed about 49,000 deer, roughly 2,800 antelope and 114 elk, according to the state.

Clark said prior News Watch coverage of the processor shortage generated even more business for him, including from Custer State Park, where officials shipped him some buffaloes for processing after culling park animals after the annual Buffalo Roundup.

South Dakota butchers exiting wild game market

Some butcher shops have closed or shifted focus away from wild game, while others no longer take any game animals, and a few will only process wild meat that is already skinned and deboned by the customer.

Whereas commercial livestock producers schedule delivery of animals to be slaughtered and butchered during normal work hours and with several animals at once, big game hunters usually arrive at butcher shops with one or two animals at whatever time of day they happen to make a kill.

South Dakota big game hunters are having increasing difficulty finding butchers who will skin,... — South Dakota big game hunters are having increasing difficulty finding butchers who will skin, debone and package meat from big game, including this buck shot in a Meade County woods in November 2023.(Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch)

Paul Sorum, co-owner of Renner Corner Meats, about 10 miles north of Sioux Falls, said his shop usually processes about 1,000 deer and other big-game carcasses a year. Sorum said he feels a strong commitment to helping hunters have a place to take full carcasses. But he also wants to continue taking whole animals as a way to maintain the South Dakota hunting economy and to uphold conservation goals.

“If it weren’t for the hunters, we’d have an overabundance of deer that are not easy on crops, not to mention the damage they do to vehicles (when struck),” he said.

The shortage of wild-game processors has been a boon to Sorum’s bottom line in the fall. He’s now taking in a lot of deer from western Minnesota and has had elk, moose, caribou, bear and antelope shipped in from other states for processing in Renner.

One concern is that if hunters who lack the skills or equipment to skin, quarter and debone carcasses on their own can’t find a processor willing to take a whole carcass, the animals could be dumped in the garbage or left to rot in the field. Some hunters may choose to give up hunting if they know in advance they won’t be able to get a full animal carcass processed.

“The deer hunters, they need a place to take their animals to be processed correctly and to know they’re going to get a great product, so we still provide that service because there’s not that many of us out there,” Sorum said. “It’s a busy time, and it’s difficult work, but I have a great staff and we get through it.”

Hunters can donate animals to charity

Hunters who want to donate the meat from a deer or antelope to charitable food pantries across the state can work with South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger. Under the program, hunters with animals can contact one of roughly two dozen butchers in South Dakota and drop off an animal carcass or deboned meat for full processing. In most cases, the participating butcher shops assume the cost of processing female animals, while donating a buck typically results in the hunter paying the processing fee.

Some of the butchers enrolled in the program require that the animal be skinned and deboned before being dropped off for processing, and the program does nothing to help hunters who want to eat the wild game meat from animals they have killed.

The wild game processing industry is not overseen or regulated by the state Game, Fish & Parks Department, which manages state hunting seasons, though butcher shops are subject to regular inspection by state and federal regulators. GFP spokesman Nick Harrington sent an email to News Watch in 2023 saying the department “is currently not seeing a lack of game processors acting as a barrier to hunters participating in the sport.”

“Conversely, applications for many big game seasons including deer and elk are either holding steady or gradually rising each year,” Harrington wrote. “There are some big-game hunters who utilize processors, while others process themselves. This is each individual hunter’s choice and personal preference.”

Home-based butchers help fill the need

The commercial butcher shops that handle wild game have long been bolstered by a network of small, home-based meat processors who take animals killed in the fall. However, those processors are also dropping out of the industry or slowing down due to age, increasing volumes or burnout.

But some home-based butchers continue to provide the service of processing wild game from carcass to usable meat portions wrapped in butcher paper, though they often can only be found through word-of-mouth connections.

Rex Roseland and his wife, Cheryl, have processed wild game at their home north of Rapid City for decades, but they’ve seen demand for processing rise in recent years.

“When you get swamped, it just takes time to get caught up,” Rex Roseland told News Watch in 2023. “We get a lot of people from previous years, and they keep coming back. But every year it seems like we pick up more people.”

Cheryl Roseland said they enjoy the work and want to help hunters out, but it’s getting harder to handle the increasing flow of animals being brought in.

“We’ve heard from people who are saying, ‘Help us because we can’t find anyplace that will take it,’” she said. “But the thing is, while we can do it, do we have room to add another animal? We will take overflow when we can, but we’re overflowing ourselves out here.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

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South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota

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3 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for Feb. 26, 2026

Published

15 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 26, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 26 drawing

03-14-22-50-57, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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South Dakota

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

State Sen. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank, speaks in the South Dakota Senate at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 10, 2026. Davis is sponsoring a bill that would ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda purchases. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

By: John Hult

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The question of whether South Dakota moves to ban the use of government food assistance for sugary drinks is in the hands of Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who has signaled his opposition to the bill all through the 2026 legislative session.

The state Senate voted 27-6 on Wednesday to endorse House Bill 1056, after the House passed it earlier 58-11. Assuming the same levels of support, both margins are wide enough to overcome a Rhoden veto, should he choose to issue one.

The bill directs the Department of Social Services to ask for a federal waiver to allow the state to bar the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of soft drinks.

SNAP is a federal program, managed by the state, through which people with low incomes get a monthly allowance for food through a debit-like card that can be used at most stores to buy nearly any consumable grocery item save alcohol and prepared foods.

Representatives from Rhoden’s office testified against the bill in House and Senate committees, arguing that the administrative costs would be too high. A fiscal note attached to the bill between its passage in the House and its appearance on the Senate’s Wednesday calendar estimated that implementation would cost $310,000 through the first two years. Those costs would come from hiring an extra employee and contracting for software to track sales, file reports and help retailers determine which drinks are banned.

Backers see long-term savings to the state, though. A high percentage of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded health insurance program open to disabled and income-eligible people.

On Wednesday, Burbank Republican Sen. Sydney Davis noted the connection between excess soda consumption and health problems like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Medicaid dental costs alone add up $51 million a year, she said.

Mitchell Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins, a retired dentist, told the body he once counted 32 cavities and seven abscesses in the mouths of 2-year-old twin boys who were covered by Medicaid.

He attributed the tooth decay to sugary beverages.

“I don’t know if that first visit was more traumatic on the boys or on my dental staff and myself,” said Miskimins.

Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, was the lone senator to speak in opposition on the Senate floor. She argued that some stores might stop accepting SNAP payments due to the administrative burden of sorting barred products from the rest of their inventories, and pointed out that the bill wouldn’t do a thing to prevent SNAP recipients from loading up on sugary foods like ice cream or snack cakes.

“It gives this look as if there’s going to be this big, huge change in the way that people buy products, but it’s really not going to be,” Grove said.

Some surrounding states, including Nebraska, have moved to ask for a waiver to ban soda sales through SNAP. Such waivers are now an option, as President Donald Trump’s administration is willing to consider granting them. Former President Joe Biden’s administration was not.

Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the South Dakota bill’s prime sponsor, got a letter last week from Trump administration officials expressing support for her proposal.

In response, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight that the governor “has always been supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again,” using a reference to the policy agenda branding used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have met directly with his Administration on this issue, and at no point has our opposition been directed at President Trump or his efforts to reform SNAP,” Harms said. “Our focus has always been on ensuring the implementation of SNAP reform works effectively for our state.”

Harms said Wednesday that Rhoden would answer questions about the bill at a Thursday press conference.

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