BATH, S.D. – Agriculture education teachers/FFA advisors make a world of difference for the students they teach. This spring students put into words, as part of an FFA Advisor Tribute Scholarship application, how their ag teachers/FFA advisors have impacted their lives. Twenty-eight outstanding examples of amazing teachers impacting their students have been chosen out the […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a much-awaited decision from the US Supreme Court, the nation’s highest legal body has ruled in favor of landowners and ag groups to overturn a lower courts decision that upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) determination of Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). The justices in a 9-0 decision overturned a lower […]

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Recent rainfall in our area, totaling as much as seven inches in some areas, has brought relief from drought conditions. Meteorologist Matthew Bunkers from the Rapid City National Weather Service explains that the steady and prolonged nature of the rainfall allowed the water to soak into the ground, replenishing creeks, streams, […]

BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota faces a pressing issue as woody plants encroach upon its grasslands, displacing native vegetation. To tackle this challenge head-on, SDSU Extension has secured a significant $1 million contribution agreement from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The funding will be allocated primarily towards supporting a dedicated field specialist who will collaborate […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A key bill to incentivize the use of cover crops across the country has been reintroduced. The Conservation Opportunity and Voluntary Environment Resilience (COVER) Program Act, which would provide a $5 per acre discount on crop insurance for farmers who plant cover crops. The COVER Act would codify a Good Steward Cover […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Todd Wilkinson testified recently before the House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry at a hearing titled “A Review of Animal Agriculture Stakeholder Priorities.” Wilkinson, a second-generation cattle producer from DeSmet, South Dakota, highlighted stronger market conditions in the cattle industry and discussed new […]

PIERRE, S.D. – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies in South Dakota and Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) are co-hosting the Great Plains Indian Ag Summit on June 6 and 7, 2023, in Pierre. On June 6, at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center,  representatives from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) announced that an aytpical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a neurologic disease of cattle, has been found in a bovine animal that arrived at a slaughterhouse in South Carolina. The approximately five-year-old or older beef cow began showing symptoms of the […]

DENVER, CO – The American Lamb Board (ALB) and the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) have released the April market summary report. The report summarizes lamb supplies, prices, trade, retail trends and more for the first quarter of 2023. Inflationary Environment Lingers Consumers are still coping with an inflationary environment as retail food prices were […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New legislation introduced Monday in the House of Representatives would allow for ethanol from corn starch to qualify as an advanced biofuel. The Fuels Parity Act would also require the Environmental Protection Agency to use the Argonne GREET model to determine the greenhouse gas emission profile of biofuels under the RFS. Corn […]