JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Desiree van Oosting’s first week after being elected to the North Dakota Legislature included a whirlwind look at one of the state’s most important industries: agriculture.

The voters of North Dakota’s District 36 on Nov. 5 elected Van Oosting to represent them in the state Senate. Van Oosting, a Republican from New Salem, grew up on a farm, as did her husband. So while she knew the importance of agriculture to North Dakota, she hadn’t seen some facets of the modern industry up close.

Van Oosting was among a group of new and experienced legislators to take a tour through central North Dakota agriculture on Nov. 8.

The group started off with a behind-the-scenes look at Cavendish Farms, a potato processing plant, before going to the Gayne Gasal farm and feedlot. Lunchtime included a look at North Dakota’s ag economic contribution, and an outlook panel featuring Howard Olson, the senior vice president of government and public affairs for AgCountry Farm Credit Services, along with ag producers Justin Sherlock, of Dazey, Ed Kessel, of Dickinson, and Warren Zenker, of Gackle. After lunch came a walking tour of Dakota Spirit ethanol plant and a bus tour of Green Bison Soy Processing.

For Van Oosting, it was an eye-opening day.

“I haven’t seen any of these places. This is my first tour of the soybean plant, the ethanol plant and Cavendish farms,” she said.

At Cavendish Farms, the group donned hard hats and hair nets to see what happens as potatoes are brought in, washed and processed into a variety of products, including french fries, hash browns and more. At the Gasal farm, they heard about what happens on a corn and soybean farm and walked through a 3,000-head feedlot. And the tours of the ethanol and soybean crush plants gave a better idea at how the state’s biggest crops get turned into feedstocks for fuels, along with other products.

Each stop included opportunities for participants — which also included representatives from ag groups in the state — to ask questions. Topics discussed included the Renewable Fuels Standard, labor and transportation.

“Everything is just so interconnected,” Van Oosting said.

Nowhere was that connection more apparent than at the Gasal farm, where Gayne Gasal, Blayke Gasal and Josh Daulton answered questions and showed everyone around the feedlot. The family has been in the Jamestown area for generations and on the current farm since 1949. Gayne Gasal boasted that the farm no longer is in the farm program, being able to operate without crop insurance or other government programs and payments. The farm grows corn and soybeans, which can be sold at the nearby plants.

The farm is also located near Cavendish Farms, which has put the feedlot sector in a unique position to use byproducts from the processing plants as feeds. The feedlot feeds waste products from Cavendish, along with dried distiller’s grain from Dakota Spirit and waste products of the soybean crush process from Green Bison.

“French fries make good cattle feed,” Gayne Gasal said.

“The feed costs are the key to the operation,” Daulton said.

And all of the manure from the feedlot gets spread back on the fields, where more crops are grown.

The feedlot purchases calves around 500 pounds and feeds them to finish, shipping them to a Tyson plant in Dakota City, Nebraska. Having a beef packing plant closer would certainly be helpful for transportation costs, the Gasals and Daulton said. The size of finished cattle means the cost per head to truck to Nebraska gets steep.

“Trucking would be significantly better,” Daulton said.

Infrastructure was a big takeaway for Van Oosting.

“What I’m hearing today is the importance of roads and infrastructure for these businesses that bring in a lot of product to the soybean plant, the potatoes to Cavendish farms,” she said. “Learning a lot, especially as a freshman.”

Over lunchtime, the group heard from Matt Perdue, government relations director for North Dakota Farmers Union, about what ag means to North Dakota, including that the industry supports 110,480 jobs in the state. While researchers at North Dakota State University who completed a study on

ag’s economic contribution to North Dakota

, wouldn’t say that ag is the “largest driver of employment in the state,” Perdue said, “that is probably a fair assumption.”

While the industry’s success means a lot to the state, there have been struggles in recent years. Olson, Sherlock, Zenker and Kessel discussed low grain prices and high input costs. Olson stressed that things aren’t as bad as the 1980s, when high interest rates and low prices were devastating to many family farms. But the problems are very real.

“We’ve got commodity prices that have dropped considerably the last two years, input costs have come down a little bit, but they still remain very high, and we find many of our farmers are in a net-loss situation this year where they’re losing money,” Olson said. “When you have those kinds of losses, they’re burning through their working capital. They’re burning through their cash. Now they have to figure out, how am I going to rebuild that working capital?”

While Sherlock said he might lose $300,000 this year — money that he says he “tucked away” over past years of better prices and high government payments — he said there are important things in North Dakota that make the future of agriculture look positive.

“Because of the Bank of North Dakota and some of the groundwork laid in the past” he said he can afford advancements like drain tiling that should make his land more productive in the future.

He and Kessel also talked about the importance of having value-added opportunities in the state, like the North Dakota State Mill’s white wheat program and ethanol and soybean plants. Domestic demand is vital, Sherlock said, pointing out that during the

trade war in 2018-19

, “50% of the revenue on my farm had nowhere to go.”

While

cattle prices

have been a bright spot in the ag market, Zenker, who has a cow-calf and feeder operation, compared equipment costs as an illustration that it’s still tough to make a profit. In the mid-’90s, he bought a new baler for $14,000. That was when a 500-pound calf brought about 40 cents per pound. Now, with like-sized calves bringing well over $3 per pound, his new baler cost $70,000.

“That 500-pound calf is not going to pay for that baler,” Zenker said.

A big talking point in the state in recent legislative sessions has been about expanding animal agriculture in North Dakota, which lags nearby states in livestock numbers. Zenker said lack of end processing remains an obstacle, with freight charges lingering around $60 per head, but he’s not sure whether communities in North Dakota would accept the changes that come with a processing plant. Sherlock suggested that a government entity should take the lead on looking into factors keeping animal agriculture in the state from growing.

In closing remarks to legislators, Kessel said lawmakers should keep regulations friendly to agriculture. Zenker agreed and said property tax relief also is important. Sherlock said things like working toward helping ensure affordable daycare are important.

“We’ve got to keep our small communities livable,” he said.

After the tours were finished, Olson said it is important to “help (legislators) get a better understanding of production agriculture, what we’ve got going on, the uphill battles that our farmers always face.” Showing them the importance of what value-added agriculture means for producers and the state is vital, he said.

“We’re so dependent on our export markets, whether it’s foreign exports or even just export out of the state. If we can be processing that product here and send it out in components, or feed it in the livestock and send it out as meat instead of meal, that’s just so much better for our agriculture,” he said.

GRAND FORKS — Three area teams landed a pair of players on the North Dakota all-state 9-man football team, which was released Monday by the North Dakota High School Coaches Association.

North Border, Cavalier and Four Winds all saw two players named to the all-state team, leading area squads.

North Border’s picks included quarterback Grant Cosley on the first-team offense and second-team pick Brody Berg.

Cosley, a senior, threw for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 yards during the regular season.

Berg finished the regular season with 50 carries for 499 yards and five touchdowns.

Cavalier’s selections included Kayden Rose on the first-team defense and second-team choice Logan Werner.

Werner, a 5-foot-8 and 160-pound senior, ran for more than 1,500 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. He also had 15 catches for 132 yards, while passing for 507 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, he had 51 tackles and two interceptions as a third-year starter.

Rose, a 6-foot-1 and 215-pound senior, was the offensive guard for a team that averaged more than 250 yards per game. Defensively, he had 56 tackles, 19.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks. He was named the Region 4 Defensive Player of the Year.

Four Winds landed second-team picks Francis Belille and Kashton Keja Jr.

Keja, a 5-foot-9 and 190-pound senior, ran for 895 yards and threw for 755. He had 24 combined touchdowns. Defensively, he had 70 tackles and 9.0 tackles for loss.

Belille, a 6-foot-3 and 290-pound junior, led the line of scrimmage for Four Winds, which hosted a playoff game for the first time in school history.

North Prairie’s Brett Tastad, a North Dakota State commit, was also a first-team offensive choice.

Tastad, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior, was a three-year starting guard and blocked for an offense that gained more than 2,800 yards rushing. Tastad, who was a second-team pick last year, had 8.0 tackles for loss this year.

Griggs-Midkota’s Levi Kautzman was a first-team defensive pick.

Kautzman, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior, had 54 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks. The three-time all-region player was the Region 2 Defensive Player of the Year.

May-Port-C-G’s Bohdi Peterson and Nelson County’s Axel Anderson rounded out the area selections as second-team choices.

Peterson, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound defensive end, had 30 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss and 10.0 sacks. He holds the school records for sacks in a season and career.

Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn’s Walker Braaten, a North Dakota State commitment, was named the division’s Senior Athlete of the Year, while New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock’s Elliott Belquist, the dad of UND All-American wide receiver Bo Belquist, was named Coach of the Year.

The North Dakota Native American Hall of Honor welcomed several new inductees Friday — including a superintendent, a former Bureau of Indian Affairs attorney, two accomplished athletes and the 1997-98 United Tribes Technical College basketball team.

The four individuals who were inducted are all members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. The basketball team included players from the Cheyenne River, Fort Berthold, Turtle Mountain, Crow and Omaha reservations.

Two inductees received the Hall of Honor’s leadership award: Marc Bluestone Sr., former superintendent of New Town Public Schools, and tribal law attorney Thomas Fredericks.

Bluestone, who is now retired, worked for the school district for more than three decades. Student attendance, graduation rates and test scores all improved under his tenure.

Bluestone advocated for a law passed by the 2021 Legislature requiring all North Dakota primary middle schools to teach Native history, and he has helped develop numerous educational resources on the subject.

Fredericks received a leadership award for his work as a Native American rights lawyer.

He said he first developed an interest in tribal law when he became the director of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation’s Community Action Agency in the 1960s. The agencies were established as part of former President Lydon Johnson’s Administration’s War on Poverty in the 1960s.

“It was a very, very eye-opening time,” Fredericks said.

In 1970, Fredericks helped start the University of Boulder School of Law’s American Indian Law Program.

He later served as associate solicitor for Indian Affairs — the first Native American to hold the position — and assistant secretary of Indian Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. 

Fredericks also helped start the National Native American Bar Association and is a founder and former executive director of the Native American Rights Fund. He retired in 2020.

Terry Kraft received a sports award for winning state titles in high school football, basketball and track.

MHA Chairman Mark Fox, who grew up with Kraft in Parshall, described him as a “natural athlete.”

Both reminisced about playing sports outside regardless of the weather.

“In a small town on a reservation, that’s all you did was play,” Kraft said.

Kraft served as a caretaker for Minot High School for nearly four decades, according to his nomination. He also coached junior high and tackle football for Minot Middle School and flag football for the Minot YMCA.

Rusty Gillette of Bismarck earned a sports award for his success as a high school basketball player, coach and powwow dancer.

His former coach at Bismarck High School, Steve Miller, described him not only as a star athlete, but someone of “great character.”

“Rusty took great pride in being a team player,” Miller said.

Gillette is also an accomplished graphic artist and business owner, his nomination notes.

The 12 members of the United Tribes Technical College basketball team were also recognized Friday night: Lonny White Eyes, Joe Howe, Dusty Traversie, Robert Webster, Galen Eberhard, Jon Derby, Travis Albers, Tanner Albers, Lee Logg, Jason Logg, Erik Abbey and Aron Abbey.

It was the first UTTC team to qualify for the National Junior College Athletic Association finals. The team is also remembered for achieving the program’s first 20-win season.

“That team, at that time — what they did was unheard of,” said former coach Kevin Finley. Gillette also coached the team.

The North Dakota Native American Hall of Honor is a collaboration between the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the State Historical Society Foundation. In addition to leadership and sports, the Hall of Honor also recognizes individuals for military service and arts and culture. An exhibit honoring inductees is on display at the North Dakota Heritage Center.