South Dakota
USDA forecasts a record-setting year for South Dakota ag production
The United States Department of Agricultural forecasts an overall increase in crop production in South Dakota this year.
The USDA predicts a record year for corn production in the state. The department expects of 850 million bushels of corn. That is an increase of 28% percent over last year.
Doug Sombke is the President of South Dakota Farmers Union. He said a large yield in corn sometimes means less money for the farmer.
“It lowers the price the farmers are paid. Quite dramatically actually. Matter of fact, even the premiums that everyone expects from ethanol plants has gone down. I know elevators that are paying more than the ethanol plants right now,” said Sombke.
The USDA said soybean production in the state is up 15% percent from last year, with a yield forecast of 44 bushels per acre.
Keith Alverson farms corn and soybeans near Chester. He agrees with USDA’s positive forecasting but said it does not apply to every farmer.
“I think conditions across the state still varied. I know that there is certainly some areas of the state that didn’t have very good yields and really where hit hard with the drought. But, in our area, it was just the timeliness of the rains. We still were behind normal in rainfall, but the rainfall that we did have came at pretty opportune times for crop production. So that was really what set this year apart from last year,” said Alverson.
Sorghum is an often-overlooked grain that has become increasing popular among producers in the state. The USDA reports sorghum harvest acreage in the state has increased by almost 50% compared to 2022.
Alverson said a contributing factor to this rapid production of sorghum is drought. The crop performs better than others in dry conditions.
“I think folks might look to sorghum to replace corn in those acres, especially as you go to the central part of the state where droughts are a little more frequent. A way to diversify your crop production in the central part of the state,” said Alverson.
The USDA said sorghum production has grown in the state by over 70% percent since last year, with a forecast of 80 bushels per acre.
MILBANK, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that one person had been arrested following a shooting that occurred at a Milbank nursing home on Wednesday.
Jackley told Dakota News Now that an employee dispute led to the shooting at Avantara Milbank where a supervisor was shot in the nose area and received minor injuries.
The suspect was arrested and there is no danger to the public at this time.
South Dakota DCI is leading the investigation and the suspect is in the process of being formally charged.
They are presumed innocent under the US Constitution.
Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health awarded South Dakota Mines Mining Engineering and Management professors Rudrajit Mitra and Andrea Brickey a $1.25 million grant to research safety improvements in underground mining.
With mining science advancements allowing for deeper digs, Mitra says safety needs to be at the forefront.
“As you go deeper, they squish the opening,” Mitra said. “So, there’s a lot of movement in the rock. Our task is to make sure that stays open for the life of the mine, but also as people are walking in and out, as equipment is driving in and out, they don’t fall.”
Mitra and Brickey will collaborate with professors from Colorado School of Mines and Montana State University in the project.
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Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – You can never be too careful when out on the ice.
After several cars fell through the ice at a popular ice fishing spot in northeast South Dakota over the weekend, it serves as a reminder of safety measures people can follow when fishing on a frozen lake or pond.
When ice fishing or going out on the ice in general, the team leader of the Rapid City Pennington County Water Rescue Team, Matt Curley, recommends it’s better to be accompanied by someone or multiple people instead of on your own.
In addition, it’s a good idea to wear life jackets in the case of an emergency. He also wants people to understand that no ice is safe ice, meaning there’s always a risk no matter the thickness of the ice.
“The minimum thickness for hard clear ice would be two inches. But again, like we said, we don’t recommend that anybody goes out on the ice just because we never know with the freezing and thawing, what the conditions of the ice actually are,” Curley said.
According to the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Facebook page, they recommend as well when on the ice, to always wear ice picks around your neck and have rope nearby.
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Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.
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