South Dakota Union Farmer - March 2013

A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION

PAGE 11 PAGE 3 PAGE 9

South DakotaUnion Farmer

Volume XCVI, NO. 3 Huron, SD March 2013

HersethSandlinAddressesSDFU StateConvention

Smiles Abound at 8th annual SDFU Foundation Fundraiser

Agnes PavlinReceives AnnualMinnie LovingerEducation Award

Farmers Union Celebrates 98th ConventionDelegates and members gather to discuss how the organization continues ‘Building for the Future’ South Dakota Farmers Union celebrated its 98th state convention Feb. 15-16, 2013, at Ab-erdeen and discussed how the organization is ‘Building for the Future.’ The theme of this year’s convention is both literal and figurative, given the fact that the orga-nization is constructing a new state office building at Huron. “We’re not only physically building for the future of Farmers Union, but we’re constantly working to build for a better future for the agricul-ture industry, building future leaders, and building the organization using our grassroots philosophy,” said SDFU President Doug Sombke. South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Walt Bones opened the convention with an address about the future of the agriculture industry in the state. Bones discussed the opening of new agricul-ture processing plants, and the market they will provide for producers. “A project that’s especially important to the

Aberdeen area is North-ern Beef Packers,” Bones said. “They’re taking cattle and that’s something a year ago we all were still wondering. They’re ramping up production, so that’s really good to see.” Bones also discussed the new Bel Brands

cheese factory under construction in Brookings. “They’re going to need 15,000 more dairy

cows,” Bones said. “the economic impact of just one dairy cow is about $14,000, so this could have a huge impact. (Bel Brands) could have gone anywhere, and there were a lot of states throwing a lot at them, and they chose south Dakota.” National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson was in South Dakota for the state convention. He gave a presentation

detailing the farm bill discussions and other is-sues going on in Washington, D.C. State Veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven spoke about how the Animal Industry Board is work-

ing to keep diseases that would affect livestock at bay. Paul Schumacher, a professional meteorolo-

gist, discussed how weather patterns are changing as a result of cli-mate change. Joy Smol-nisky from the South Dakota Budget and Policy Project

spoke about Medicaid expansion and the South Dakota state budget that is being debated in the Legislature. A number of awards were given out over the

Walt Bones Roger Johnson

See CONVENTION Page 15

South Dakota Farmers Union members gathered in Aberdeen for the 98th annual state convention Feb. 15-16.

Doug Sombke SDFU President

Union FarmerSouth DakotaUnion FarmerA PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNIONSouth Dakota Union Farmer, ISSN 0745-8797, publishes ten times per calendar year, with issues printed in January, Febru-ary, March, April, May/June, July, August, Sept/Oct, November, and December. Copies are available for $3.00 per year (included with membership dues), and non-members annual subscription is $7.50. Advertising rate is $6.00/column inch. Periodical post-age paid at Mitchell, S.D. POSTMASTER: Address changes to: SDFU, PO Box 1388, Huron, S.D. 57350-1388

Contact SDFU 888.734.8136 605.352.67611410 Dakota Avenue South, PO Box 1388, Huron, SD 57350

www.sdfu.org [email protected]

SDFU State Office StaffKarla Hofhenke.......ext. 114 Secretary Treasurer Huron

Chris Studer.............ext. 122 Communications/Marketing Huron

Mitch Fargen...........ext. 116 Rural Development Director Sioux Falls

Mike Traxinger........ext. 112 Legislative Director Claremont

Bonnie Geyer...........ext. 125 Education Director Huron

Garret Bischoff.......ext. 118 Membership Director Huron

Angela Tarasoff......ext. 111 Membership Specialist Huron

Leslie Rupiper........ext. 115 Foundation Exec. Director Sioux Falls

SDFU Board of Directors

Wayne Soren..........Vice Pres.Lake PrestonTerry Sestak...........District ITaborJim Wahle..............District IISalemFranklin Olson.....District IIIPierpont

Doug Sombke.........PresidentGroton

Joel Keierleber.......District IVColomeDallis Basel..............District VUnion CenterLynn Frey...............District VILemmonChad Johnson.......District VIIGroton

Contact NFU National Farmers Union 20 F Street NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001

Roger Johnson, President ~ Claudia Svarstad, Vice President Doug Peterson, Secretary ~ Don Teske, Treasurer

202.554.1600 www.nfu.org

2 March 2013 Union Farmer www.sdfu.org

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What is the most important thing to every living individual in South Dakota and around the world? Your health, right?! It’s not money, reli-gion, or politics. Without your health, the rest of life is meaningless. Yet, when you’re healthy, those other items seem to matter more. The debate over health care has wide reaching impacts here in South Dakota. Rural areas have a lot more at stake than do our friends in urban areas. That’s because on aver-age we are older, poorer, and are much more dependent on government-supported health care. The fight over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has now come to our state Capitol in Pierre. Legislators, by Janu-ary 1, 2014, will be faced with two ACA direct programs. First, there must be a health care exchange; a marketplace where people can pur-chase health insurance that is eligible for federal subsidies. Second, South Dakota must choose whether or not to participate in a federally-funded expansion of Medicaid to cover more of our states low-income, uninsured citizens. Both of these issues have been subject to overly political debate. But, when you really understand the programs, a much less political picture begins to come into focus. Right now, South Dakota’s Medicaid program covers about 116,000 children, adults and people with disabilities. If South Dakota chooses to expand Medicaid, the income requirements would be loosened and an estimated 48,000 people, mostly adults without children, would be covered by the government insurance program. The federal government would cover 100 percent of the cost of expansion, other than some administration costs, until 2016. Then the federal government will scale back its funding to 90 per-cent by 2022 and beyond. If South Dakota chooses not to participate in the expansion, it will leave tens of thousands of low-income individuals uninsured with no choice but to use emergency care as their only source of health care, resulting in their local county paying

the bill. According to an Urban Institute analysis, if all 50 states would adopt the expansion of Medicaid, collectively, our 10-year cost would be $26 billion to $52 billion less than if all remained in today’s Medicaid program for the next five years. Medicaid spending also carries economic benefits for South Dakota. Through federal shared spending, expansion will fund in-state jobs and generate economic activity. The benefit is even greater if an individual gets sick. A recent five-year Harvard School of Public Health study showed one life was saved each year for every 176 adults enrolled in Medicaid expansion. If every state in the union would adopt the ACA Medicaid expansion, it would save 80,000 lives per year, costing a state $10,000 per life saved. That’s a small price to pay if you or some-one you know becomes sick. Yet, South Dakota is one of about 16 states, many rural by the way, which are against or leaning against expanding Medicaid to our citizens. Why? It’s not money. 100 percent is covered by the federal government in the short term, and 90 percent is covered starting in 2022. Yet many in the majority party in South Dakota and Repub-lican Gov. Dennis Daugaard are against it! Since when has South Dakota turned down federal funds? South Dakotans receive more money back from the federal government than we pay in taxes. We can’t afford to turn this opportunity down. Ev-ery county commissioner in South Dakota should be in favor of participating in ACA, or they will be left explaining why their county’s cost for car-ing for low-income citizens is so high. So, Gov. Daugaard and majority party legisla-tors, what is it: politics or religion? Why would you pass up this opportunity to help more low-income citizens, save lives, and lower costs for those who pay for their insurance? A better question for you to answer would be, what kind of taxpayer-supported health care insurance do you have? I encourage everyone to ask these questions of their legislators and tell them to examine the num-bers since they are neither political nor religious. I wish you a Happy Easter and God bless all you do.

888.734.8136 605.352.6761

Union FarmerEducation News By Bonnie Geyer Education Director

www.sdfu.org Union Farmer March 2013 3

Double D

Congratulations to Agnes Pavlin of Parkston for receiving the Minnie Lovinger Esteemed Educator Award at the state convention Educa-tion Honors Luncheon. It was a lot of fun to surprise and honor a well deserving individual! She has served the young people of our state for 40 years. You can read more about Agnes and her honor in the story on this page. We honored other youth leaders at your state convention as well. You can see this year’s award recipients on page 13 of this issue. Farm-ers Union is very lucky and honored to have such dedicated individuals who are willing to invest their time to educate and guide our young people. I am very proud of these individ-uals for their long time service and dedication. A big thank you to all our leaders! One of the most exciting events at the convention each year is the annual Torchbearer ceremony. We had a large group of 14 Torch-bearers this year. You can read more about this year’s Torchbearers on page 10 of this issue. These young people are excited to be part of Farmers Union and you can be very proud of all these individuals! Congratulations to Austin Agler from Stickney and Aidan Beck from Huron, the new 2013 Senior Advisory Council members. Senior Advisory Council members are chosen by the Education Council from qualifying Torchbear-ers. The Senior Advisory Council members are voting members of the Education Council representing their peers. They serve in an advi-sory capacity to the Junior Advisory Council in planning State Camp. They also participate in Education Council meetings, County Council-ors and help with state convention. We also just had a group of young people return from participating in the College Confer-ence on Cooperatives that was held in Min-neapolis on February 14-17. Read more about their trip on page 15. We are fortunate to have grant funding from the CHS Foundation along with conference sponsors CoBank, Farmers Union Industries Foundation, NFU Founda-tion, SPIRE Federal Credit Union, CHS, Inc., Minnesota Cooperative Education Foundation, Federated Youth Foundation and Organic Val-ley who make this event possible. We are excited that summer activities are right around the corner and we are getting ready for all the fun activities! Youth leaders, it’s not too early for you to set your camp dates — the calendar is filling up already! Remem-ber that summer staff will be available to assist you on a first come first serve basis.

For the past four decades, Agnes Pavlin has been committed to teaching the cooperative spirit to young people in South Dakota. The leader of the St. John’s Local Camp was the recipient of this year’s Minnie Lovinger Esteemed Educator Award from South Dakota Farmers Union. The St. John’s Local camp is the only lo-cal still going in the state. Pavlin was given the award during the Education Honors Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 15. “Agnes has volunteered countless hours to help young people learn and grow in South Dakota,” said Education Director Bonnie Geyer. “It’s because of dedicated individuals like Agnes that Farmers Union’s education programs con-tinue to grow and thrive. We’re so excited to be able to honor Agnes with this award and look forward to celebrating many more years of her commitment to the young people of our state.” The award is named after Mrs. David (Min-nie) Lovinger, who served as the first Education Director for the South Dakota Farmers Union and then as the first National Farmers Union Educational Director. This award recognizes and salutes an individual for their lifetime of service and commitment to the South Dakota Farmers Union Education Program. Agnes joins a prestigious group of recipients of this award:

Parkston’s Pavlin Receives Esteemed Educator Award

Agnes Pavlin (right) with Education Director Bonnie Geyer. Pavlin was the recipient of the Minnie Lovinger Esteemed Educator Award. Pavlin has been a Farmers Union educator for 40 years.

Joan Hafner, 2004; Arlene Schley Elliott, 2005; Grace Bubbers, 2006; Viola Barry, 2007; Barb Vetter, 2008; Ardessa Moser, 2009; Pat Larson, 2010; Sharon Artz, 2011; and Marsha Sumpter, 2012.

Beck, Agler to Serve on Senior Advisory Council Austin Agler of Stickney and Aidan Beck of Huron have been selected to serve as the new 2013-2014 Senior Advisory Council members for South Dakota Farmers Union. Agler, who is enrolled as a student at Mitchell Technical Institute, was a Torchbearer last year and has been a commit-ted participant in Farm-ers Union youth activi-ties for years. Beck, a senior at Huron High School, was a Torchbearer this year. He plans to attend the University of South Dakota in the fall. Senior Advisory Council members are chosen by the Education Council from qualifying Torch-bearers. The Senior Advisory Council members are voting members of the Education Council

representing their peers. They serve in an advi-sory capacity to the Junior Advisory Council in planning State Camp. They also participate in Education Council meetings, County Councilors and help with state convention. The deciding factors in choosing the Senior Advisory Council are based on leadership skills, conduct, interac-tion with their peers and other individuals and their overall participa-tion in activities. “I look forward to working with Aidan and Austin,” said Education Director Bon-nie Geyer. “They are outstanding young people and I’m so please they’ll be continuing their lead-ership in the Farmers Union youth program.”

Aidan BeckAustin Agler

More Award Recipients on Page 14


Union FarmerMembership News By Garret Bischoff Membership Director

Doug Sombke of Groton will serve another two-year term as president of South Dakota Farmers Union. Sombke was re-elected Saturday by delegates at the family farm organization’s 98th annual state convention held in Aberdeen. Sombke has been president of the Huron-based

statewide orga-nization since 2005. He ran unopposed. “I’m so proud to be president of this great organization,” Sombke said. “And I’m hon-ored that our members have entrusted me with leading South Dakota Farmers Union

for another two years. We have accomplished a lot over the last eight years, and I’m excited to continue the progress we’ve made.” Sombke is a fourth-generation producer who farms with his wife and three sons near Conde. He served as vice president of the organization from 1999-2001.

Sombke, Soren to Continue as Leaders of S.D. Farmers Union

Doug SombkePresident

Wayne SorenVice President

Wayne Soren, a Lake Preston-area farmer, was elected vice president of the organization. He was appointed to the position in 2011 after former vice president Larry Birgen of Beresford resigned to take a position with the state Farm Service Agency Committee. Soren will also serve a two-year term. “It’s a great honor to have the support of the members and I look forward to serving for another two years,” Soren said. It’s great to know that our members are engaged in moving the agriculture in-dustry forward in a positive manner and I’m ready to get to work for South Dakota producers.” As president and vice president, Sombke and Soren are two of the nine members that make up the South Dakota Farmers Union board of direc-tors.

State Board Members Elected Three members of the South Dakota Farm-ers Union’s state board of directors were re-elected to two-year terms during the state convention Feb. 15-16. District II representa-tive Jim Wahle of Salem was re-elected to the board. Jim and his wife Kathy live southwest of Salem on a farm that has been his fam-ily for over 120 years. He’s been on the state board since 2006. Joel Keierleber was elected to the state board for a two-year term repre-senting District IV. He was appointed to the board in 2011 and filled out the re-maining term of Brad Reis who resigned.

Keierleber and his wife Audrey farm in Tripp County running a cow/calf operation and they raise alfalfa, corn, soybeans and wheat. Lynn Frey of Lemmon was elected to a two-year term representing District VI. He was appointed to the board in 2012 to fill the remainder of the term of former board member Jerry Petik who resigned last year. Lynn owns and operates Frey Ranch Inc. near Lem-mon. The other members of the SDFU board of di-rectors are Chad Johnson of Groton representing District VII, Franklin Olson of Pierpont repre-senting District III, Terry Sestak representing District I, Dallis Basel of Union Center represent-ing District V, Vice President Wayne Soren and President Doug Sombke.Joel Keierleber

Lynn Frey

Jim Wahle

When you walk outside, it’s starting to feel likee spring is just around the corner. At our farm that means late night calving checks and muddy clothes! Calving season is my favorite time of the year. Nothing beats watching a pasture full of baby calves run-ning around on a nice spring day. Hopefully ev-eryone has a safe and productive spring season this year. I was happy to see so many people attend our state convention in Aberdeen this year. I thought the speakers and sessions this year were top notch. Our South Dakota Farmers Union Founda-tion fundraiser A Night on the Prairie was a blast as always. The live auction and games are always so much fun to participate in. I was lucky enough this year to have my oldest son learn how the silent auction works, luckily he only bid $80 on one item he didn’t need! Don’t forget about our big membership incentive this year. We will be giving away either an iPad or $500 to one lucky person that we will draw out of new and renewed memberships we receive in the office between the beginning of the year and April 1, 2013. We’ve been getting quite a few in, so make sure you get yours in. If your membership isn’t due until later in the year, you can still take advantage of this drawing by sending in your membership dues now. You can actually sign up online if you prefer at www.sdfu.org. If you are a lifetime member, sign someone else up and we’ll put you in the drawing! I would like to do some traveling across the state of South Dakota this spring so if you want to have some activities in your county or district, give me a call. We can get together and talk about what has happened in Pierre this past legislative session and how it will affect your operation, the looming farm bill, or any other issues you think are important to agriculture in your area. We’re looking to have a record year and we hope that you will get involved and make our collective voice even stronger as we look to add members to our organization. I’m here for the membership so give me a call! Call me at 605-352-6761 extension 118 or email me at [email protected].


Union FarmerRural Development News By Mitch Fargen Rural Development Director

The fourth annual ‘Team up to Safety’ quiz bowl competition is coming to Brookings Mon-day, April 15, 2013, once again being held in conjunction with the state FFA convention held on the campus of South Dakota State Univer-sity. Farmers Union will accept 16 high school teams, so space is limited. We usually end up turning teams away from the event. Every high school needs to have four students to a team who will answer questions related to health and safety on the farm or ranch. The top 4 scoring teams get to go to the final round held at Dakotafest in Mitchell in August. We gave the students over 200 pages of material to study for the April and August events. That is why we award these students cash prizes for participat-ing and winning because they put extra time into studying and learning about farm safety and we hope that carries over to working on the farm. Please encourage your FFA members and advisors to get involved with this program in April at the FFA convention and hopefully in the future we can expand our program even more. In March we are finishing our fifth Rural Economic and Leadership (REAL) Develop-ment Program. We have had great participants in this program and we will be looking forward to the summer when we start recruiting for our next REAL program. We accept 20 participants per class from all across South Dakota. In REAL we focus on two things: communi-ty service and public service. I am hoping par-ticipants will get the skills from this class to go out into their community and give back in some way. If it is participating in the SDFU, another organization, church board, co-op board, run for the Legislature or county commissioner, we want them to become a leader in their commu-nities. We hope they will get involved in their community and give something back to South Dakota. We are lucky to have great speakers and presenters to share their experiences with the group and we are fortunate to have a group of participants who are already active in their communities and want to get even more in-volved. If you want to know more about any of these exciting programs that the South Dakota Farm-ers Union is putting on or if you want to get involved please contact me at [email protected] or at 605-695-0705.

‘Producer First’ Bill Defeated in South Dakota House The full House of Representatives defeated House Bill 1228 on the floor by a vote of 18-52. Having passed out of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee the week before by a vote of 8-5, three of the committee members who voted to pass it out of committee changed course and voted against the bill on the floor. The bill was introduced in response to the insolvency of Minnesota-based Anderson Seed Company’s grain facility in Redfield last Febru-ary. The company owes producers an estimated $2.6 million. The bill would have put producers

By NFU President Roger Johnson

NFU Convention March at National Farm-ers Union means that it is convention time. We have put together a very diverse program this year, with a solid lineup of speakers, two sessions of breakouts that will offer practical educational op-portunities for all attendees. Sunday’s afternoon of tours will provide an opportunity to learn more about the unique land-scape of New England agriculture. As is tradition, we will close the convention with the consider-ation and adoption of policy. NFU is proud of its grassroots structure, and that is clear through the method by which policy is adopted in the organi-zation. After our convention closes and spring ap-proaches, NFU will be very busy, as will our members. Good luck to you all and we hope to see you in Springfield!NFU Executive Board Meets in D.C. The NFU executive board was in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12-14 to meet with selected members of Congress to outline Farmers Union priorities and underline the importance of working on the passage of a five-year farm bill. There isn’t a more critical issue for rural America and the consumers we serve than pas-sage of a new comprehensive, five-year, farm bill in 2013. The most valuable thing that our members can do right now is talk directly to their

members of Congress to share their stories and describe the challenges they face on a daily basis. In their meetings, Farmers Union members highlighted a number of key issues relating to farm bill legislation, including the importance of price protection and insurance options, conserva-tion funding and the creation and funding of rural development programs. NFU will continue to work with all members of Congress in getting a farm bill passed, and encourages Farmers Union members to reach out to their Congressional representatives to underline the importance of passing a farm bill. Join NFU’s Family Farmer Advocacy Network – become a FFAN! National Farmers Union is excited to announce the creation of the Family Farmer Advocacy Network. We couldn’t do our work in Washing-ton, D.C., without the help of leaders like you across the country. Your grassroots contact with your members of Congress is critical to spreading Farmers Union’s message quickly throughout the country. To join our network and become a FFAN, please fill out the form at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/96XG2RM to update your contact information. We will also have a booth at the convention in Springfield with information to facilitate sign up. NFU staff will contact you occasionally with requests to contact lawmakers about specific legislative proposals to educate them about how the legislation will affect family farmers and ranchers.

first in line to receive payments from grain ware-house or grain buyer bonds. There is currently no process in law that is followed for distributing a seized bond to those who lost money. Some of the entities which lost money were dairies, cooperatives, truckers and a colony. They requested 40 percent of the money from the bond that was seized by the South Dakota Public Utili-ties Commission. SDFU will continue to work with lawmakers to come up with a plan that will protect produc-ers if a grain buyer would go out of business and leave without paying for grain delivered.


Union Farmer

Senate Committee Kills PublicWater over Private Land Bill

S.D. Legislature to Congress: Pass the Farm Bill Both houses of the South Dakota Legislature gave approval to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, calling on Congress to pass a five-year farm bill. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Larry Lucas, D-Mission, and Rep. Charles Hoffman, R-Eureka. It passed the House by a vote of 59-2. Nine members of the House didn’t vote on the measure. The Senate approved the resolution on a vote of 33-2. The resolution, which doesn’t have the power of law, urges Congress to pass a multi-year farm

bill before the expiration of the one-year exten-sion Sept. 30, 2013. “...the farm bill is important for every Ameri-can because it provides critical investment in rural communities, conserves precious natural re-sources such as soil and water, provides food for schools and those less fortunate, and creates new sources of energy made here at home,” the resolu-tion reads says. “...the farm bill provides farmers with risk management tools necessary for effi-cient, uninterrupted operations and gives farmers

critical certainty about farm policy as they make operating decisions and deal with volatile weather conditions.” The resolution went on to urge “...the United States Congress to work in a cooperative, biparti-san fashion to pass a new, multiyear farm bill that is beneficial to agricultural producers from all re-gions of the country and includes comprehensive programs for dairy, livestock, insurance, nutrition, energy, research and development, market devel-opment, and specialty crops.”

One of the more controversial bills introduced in this year’s legislative session was killed by a Senate panel with the understanding that a bill to deal with public waters over private land will be dealt with next year. House Bill 1135, which would have prohibited the public from entering a landowner’s flooded property for recreational use, such as fishing or boating, if the landowner posted a notice or sign that indicated access was not allowed, was deferred by the Senate State Affairs Committee to the 41st legislative day, essentially killing the measure. At issue is land that is privately owned, but covered by water after flooding changed the landscape. Sportsmen argued that under current state law that any bodies of water are in the public domain, and they had a right to fish or hunt on

that water. But landowners, who pay taxes on land that is now under water, argued that they should have the right to prohibit hunting or fishing on water that covers their land. The bill, which stirred up a lot of discus-sion and passion from sportsmen and landown-ers alike, was killed with the understanding that the Game Fish & Parks Department, water and landowner groups would come together to find a sufficient compromise and propose legislation next year to remedy the issue. Game, Fish & Parks Secretary Jeff Vonk and Mike Shaw from the Nonmeandered Waters of South Dakota Association spoke to the commit-tee and committed to working together to find a solution. “You have my personal commitment that I will

THE RURAL LOBBYIST

Oil and Gas Bills Breeze Through Legislature A number of bills designed to either deal with current issues surrounding oil and gas develop-ment in South Dakota or prepare for future expan-sion have sailed through the Legislature this year. The bills came out of a summer study that looked at current oil and gas development in the state, studied North Dakota’s issues with its oil boom, and decided on certain remedies and solu-tions for surface and mineral rights owners along with companies that may want to harvest oil and gas in South Dakota. House Bill 1001 would require mineral de-velopers to give notice to surface owners before entering their land for oil or gas exploration. “We supported this bill because even though some surface owners might not own the mineral rights below their land, they need to know who is going to be there and what they’re going to be doing,” said Mike Traxinger, SDFU’s legislative director. “It’s a common-sense piece of legislation

that will give reasonable notice to landowners.” House Bill 1002 would provide for the cre-ation of a trust account for unlo-catable mineral interest owners. If someone who owns mineral rights cannot be found, the oil or gas company would deposit the funds owed the individual into an account held by the county. If or when the mineral rights owner is found, then they could be repaid for their mineral rights. House Bill 1003 would set up a mediation program through the S.D. Department of Agriculture to help settle disputes between mineral developers and surface owners. It would also set up other mediation practices for other disputes land-

This oil well pump just outside Buf-falo, S.D., is pulling oil out of the ground. It is one of several pumps in the northwestern corner of the state extracting oil.

work with Mr. Shaw, and the folks that he repre-sents, and certainly with recognition of sportsmen at the same time ... our commitment is that we come back to you next year with a bill that we can jointly support and that you can consider for pas-sage,” Secretary Vonk told committee members. “We’ve decided rather than work toward fighting, trying to fix what are imperfect bills, we would rather take the opportunity to agree upon those things that we agree upon and improve upon them,” Mike Shaw said. Sen. Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center, said he’s confident that the parties involved will come to a solution that is workable for both landowners affected and sportsmen who want to use the water for recreation. “We have a very significant obligation as legislators to look out for the interests of all South Dakotans. From a property right’s perspective and from an opportunity’s perspective for sports-men, a legal obligation. Understanding that those waters have been ruled property of the state. This in my mind is the best resolution to allow this conversation to move forward.”

owners might face with the federal government or creditors. House Bill 1004 would provide for the

award of treble damages in certain sur-face depredation cases. Treble damag-es would allow a judge to award triple the suggested damages if they see fit. That provision is not mandatory for a judge. It only allows them to award triple damages if the judge feels the oil or gas company was extremely negli-gent or tried to defraud the landowner. House Bill 1006 would revise certain provisions relating to the termination of certain mineral interests. All of the bills passed both the House and the Senate easily, with only a handful of votes against any of the measures. They have been delivered to Gov. Dennis Daugaard. The governor

is expected to sign the legislation.


Union FarmerPartisan Vote Kills Bipartisan Redistricting Committee Plan A plan to create a bipartisan legislative redis-tricting commission in South Dakota was defeated by a partisan vote Monday, Feb. 4, in the House State Affairs Committee. House Joint Resolution 1001 would have created a commission made up of citizens who were appointed by legislators to draw legislative district lines. Right now, partisan legislators can draw the lines for their own districts based on popula-tion every 10 years, coinciding with the federal census. The majority party is allowed more votes on the redistricting committee than the minority party. This measure would have allowed legisla-tors from each party to appoint the same number of members to the commission. Rep. David Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, moved to defer the measure to the 41st legislative day, ef-fectively killing the proposal. Eight Republicans on the committee voted to kill the bill. All four Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the bipartisan commission. “The citizens being the ones that decide the districts somewhat makes me nervous,” Rep. Novstrup said during the committee hearing Mon-day. “Not that I don’t trust them, but it somewhat makes me nervous.” “The arguments just don’t have any weight,” said Democratic House leader Rep. Bernie Hunhoff, D-Yankton. “Nothing’s ever going to be perfect, but the system we have now is far from perfect. … Republicans have about 46 or 47 percent of registered voters; they have what, 80 percent of the Legislature? I think that’s the only number you need to know.” The measure would also have established single-member House districts in South Dakota, replacing the current practice of four candidates

running for two seats in the Legislature where voters pick their top two choices. “For South Dakota Farmers Union, this is a rural issue,” said Mike Traxinger, Farmers Union’s legislative director in testimony before the committee. “South Dakota’s rural voice con-tinues to shrink in the South Dakota Legislature. With single-member House districts, there is the potential to have a minimum of seven more rural legislators in the state of South Dakota.” Rep. Peggy Gibson, D-Huron, introduced HJR 1001, which would have changed the South Da-kota Constitution. The measure would have gone to a public vote in 2014 had it passed the Legisla-ture and received the governor’s signature. “Redistricting should not be a political game,” said South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke. “Rural South Dakotans deserve a chance to be represented by their rural neighbors.” “I think it’s something the people of South Dakota are interested in and want to do is have more balanced districts,” said Rep. Scott Parsley, D-Madison. “I think if we take the politics out of this, we wind up with a better mix in our Legisla-ture which in the end we end up with better laws that come out of our Legislature. This is some-thing that I believe is long overdue in the state of South Dakota. It works in Montana, it works in several other states.” The bipartisan redistricting commission would have had seven members. The House majority leader, the House minority leader, the Senate ma-jority leader, and the Senate minority leader each would have appointed one person to the commis-sion. Those appointees would jointly select three other state citizens, none of which would be able to be a current state legislator.

The South Dakota House passed an amended House Bill 1235 Feb. 20, continuing the Re-gional Watershed Task Force which is working to find solutions to water management issues in South Dakota. SDFU worked to establish the Regional Watershed Task Force during last year’s legisla-tive session. The panel had two meetings, with a third cancelled because of weather. House Bill 1235 this year was “Hoghoused” by the House Judiciary Committee, a procedure used to strike everything from a proposed law and insert an entirely new bill. HB 1235 was hoghoused to repeal the Regional Watershed Task Force that was estab-lished last year by the Legislature to conduct studies and evaluations on matters related to drainage, erosion, flood control, reclamation, environmental protection, and improvement of lands, soils, waters and other purposes. SDFU worked closely with legislators to change the language of the bill, ensuring that the task force will continue. The amended language of the bill would call for stakeholders to pay at least 50 percent of the costs associated with the task force. The bill will now move to a Senate com-mittee, where SDFU will work with senators to continue the task force’s mission and to help bring forward ideas to help the task force come up with appropriate remedies to water issues.

House Bill Amended to KeepProducer Protection in Place The South Dakota Department of Agriculture introduced House Bill 1048 to repeal several lines of outdated South Dakota law. One portion, how-ever, that was initially proposed to be repealed would have taken away protection for farmers. The current law requires anyone “holding a patent on transgenic seed” who wants to enter a farmer’s land to obtain crop samples “to deter-mine whether patent infringement has occurred” to notify the farmer in writing of the allegation that a patent infringement has occurred. After the Department of Agriculture was made aware of the consequences of repealing that

portion of law, the department amended the bill to keep that portion of statute in place. Farmers Union testified in favor of the bill with the amend-ment and the measure was passed. “The Department of Agriculture was very responsive to these concerns,” said SDFU’s Chris Studer in testimony before the committee. “We think the section dealing with transgenic seed is an important producer protection and urge your support with these changes.” The bill will now move to the Senate floor for consideration.

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Union Farmer


Frey, Hoffman Honored for Meritorious Service It would be a mistake to split the two of these guys up when writing an article about the recipients of this year’s Meritorious service awards. Eugene Hoffman and the late Calvin Frey were the best of friends, often traveling together to events of all kinds, includ-ing many Farmers Union gath-erings over the years. They were both honored during the convention for their ser-vice to Farm-ers Union. We’ll start with Calvin. For over six decades, Calvin Frey was one of South Dakota Farmers Union’s most trusted members. He was born in 1926 on his grand-father’s home-stead in rural White Butte, South Dakota. He went to country school in South Da-kota, except for a year when his parents lived and worked in California for a few months in 1937 and 1938 while they vis-ited family and worked in the California or-chards. He had his own memo-ries of picking fruit and cotton during his first trip to California. Calvin graduated from the eighth grade in Bison, South Dakota, and attended high school at the Northwestern Lutheran Academy. He graduated in 1943. After graduation Calvin started his life’s work: farming. He worked with his father on the family farm south of White

Butte, raising crops and livestock. He married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy, in June of 1949. In the 1950s, Calvin and Dorothy, along with Calvin’s brother Otto, leased the family farm, and in 1957 they bought the land, cattle and machinery from his father. They farmed together until 1977 when Calvin’s son Lynn joined them and they formed Frey Ranch Inc. Calvin served as a Perkins County officer for Farmers Union, and could be seen at countless Farmers Union conventions and events. He and Eugene Hoffman would travel to Pierre, even when the weather was bad, to attend Farmers Union Legislative Day because they thought it was important to sit down and talk with our lawmakers. Calvin also served on the Dakota’s Propane Gas Cooperative board of directors and the Lemmon Cooperative Association food store in Lemmon. He was among the early members to join and promote the Lemmon Federal Credit Union after it was founded in 1957. He was a member of the board of control of Northwest-ern Lutheran Academy at Mobridge for 15

years until it was closed in 1979. He also served as a member of the Perkins County FHA Com-mittee and for over 40 years as Clerk of Liberty Town-ship. Along with farming and ranching, Calvin was a farm Dekalb seed dealer for almost 30 years.

Calvin was also an active member of his church family.

He was a member of Redeemer’s Evangeli-cal Lutheran Church of White Butte until its closing in 1953. He was a charter member of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hettinger, North Dakota, where he served as a church councilman, Sunday school teacher, and organist until it closed after 50 years in

Calvin Frey

The family of the late Calvin Frey accepted the Meritorious Service Award. Pic-tured from left are Calvin’s son Lynn, daughter Marilyn Schwartzbauer and wife Dorothy. SDFU President Doug Sombke presents the award to Calvin’s family.

2004. Calvin then joined the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bison. Unfortunately, we lost Calvin on October 20, 2011. He was 85 years old. Calvin will al-ways be remembered in South Dakota Farmers Union as a strong leader, willing to serve and sacrifice for the betterment of all South Dakota producers. For his tireless work, his unwavering com-mitment to family farms and the cooperative philosophy, and his desire to see a stronger South Dakota, South Dakota Farmers Union presented the 2012 Meritori-ous Service Award in lov-ing memory of Calvin Frey. Eugene Hoffman was born in 1927 and raised on his family’s farm in Lemmon, S.D. He attended country school and graduated from Lemmon High School in 1946, the same year he became a South Dakota Farmers Union member. He’s continued to be an active member for well over 60 years. Hoffman served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War in the 1950s, stationed in Germany. After being discharged from the Army, Eugene returned to Lemmon to work with his father and brother on the family farm. Through the years they raised cattle, corn, wheat, pigs and sheep. He has been active in his community, serving on the board of directors for the local credit union, he is involved in the local Lions Club, and has an active member of South Dakota Farmers Union for decades. Eugene Hoffman has a close relationship with Calvin Frey, and could often be seen together at Farmers Union meetings or at the local café. They would often play Rummy to see who bought lunch. Eugene spends a lot of his time now attend-ing dances and being involved in his commu-nity. Because of his long-time involvement and commitment to Farmers Union, Eugene Hoff-man was the recipient of the Meritorious Ser-vice Award.

Eugene Hoffman


Union Farmer

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Herseth Sandlin Addresses SDFU Convention Congress squandered an incredible opportunity to enhance American agriculture while saving tax-payers billions of dollars when lawmakers failed to pass a comprehensive, long-term farm bill last year. That’s according to former South Dakota Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin who spoke Friday evening at the South Dakota Farmers Union’s 98th annual state convention at Aberdeen. “The reason we didn’t get a multi-year farm bill in the last Congress, five words: John Boehner and Eric Cantor, bottom line,” Herseth Sandlin said, referring to Speaker of the House Boehner and House Majority Leader Cantor. “And it’s because they’re ideologically opposed to many of the programs that are in that bill. The Senate comes up with a product that saves $23 billion in taxpayer money, passes a bipartisan bill, the House Ag Committee passes a bill and John Boehner won’t bring it for a vote.” Herseth Sandlin, a Democrat who served in the U.S. House from 2004-2011, said she gets asked a lot whether she misses being in Congress.

She said she misses the opportunity to serve, but said “the answer is a lot more complicated than that” because of the extreme partisan divide she says has engulfed the nation’s capital. “What’s going on in Washington has gotten to the point where unfor-tunately the public can’t expect much out of their Congress as an institution given the raw partisan politics that seems to trump any type of common ground that should be advancing smarter public policy,” she said. “As I watched the last Congress unfold, recalling and feeling that the most professionally rewarding experience I had when I had the opportunity to serve was to pass a bipartisan, multi-year farm bill, and to see that an opportunity like no other was squandered because of ideology and partisan politics was incredibly disap-pointing. “John Boehner had a responsibility as Speaker

of the House to bring that bill, whether it was the committee bill or the Senate bill to the floor of

Former Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin speaks during the Friday evening session of the SDFU convention at Aberdeen.

Former congresswoman discusses farm bill, sustainability

See HERSETH SANDLIN Page 16

An official from the new Northern Beef Pack-ers processing plant in Aberdeen made a short but important statement Friday of the South Dakota Farmers Union state convention: “I would like to start off by saying, we’re open,” said A.J. Munger, who got a large round of applause at the short comment. Munger is the new director of new business devel-opment, pricing and marketing for Northern Beef Packers. “It’s been a long road. It’s been a rocky road at times, but with a lot of perseverance, and help from the community we’ve been able to open our doors and it’s been a good start.” After suffering a number of setbacks, Aberdeen-based North-ern Beef Packers started harvesting cattle last October. Right now, the plant processes 300 head per day on average. The plant is now owned by Korean and Chinese inves-tors and getting to this point has not been easy, Munger said. “It’s quite a task building a beef processing plant from the ground up,” Munger said. “One of these plants hasn’t been built in the last 35 years, so it’s been quite the challenge to go out and find the expertise that it takes to get one of these plants

built and up and running.” The plant is still working out the kinks, mak-ing sure all of the systems “talk to each other,” Munger said. “We’re getting pretty close, and we should start adding production here in the next

few weeks.” The company is working to expand its market. They’ve started working with high-end distribu-tors in Chicago and New York City, Munger said. They’re still finishing the necessary paperwork, but Munger says Northern Beef Packers could be exporting meat to other countries by the end of March. “We’ve got some good feedback from our customers who we ship our beef to,” he said. Munger said they’ve gotten much

of the cattle they process from within 20 miles of the plant. As they increase production, Munger said he’s confident that the majority of cattle will come from local sources. “Our studies have shown that there are enough cattle within 200 miles of the plant to meet all of our needs,” Munger said. And he said it’s qual-ity beef they’re processing. “We didn’t build this plant in Aberdeen, South Dakota, by mistake. We

Northern Beef Packers Official: ‘We’re Open’

A.J. Munger, an official with Northern Beef Packers, discusses the new Aberdeen plant’s operations.

After a number of setbacks over several years, the Aberdeen plant is finally up and runningbuilt it right in the middle of prime cattle country, and so far our grading quality has been excellent.” The plant will also be working with the South Dakota Certified program, selling beef that were born, raised and slaughtered in the state, and will look for other markets that would be beneficial to the plant and the producers. The 420,000-square-foot plant is known as a regional packer, more of a niche-market plant as opposed to major packers. “We don’t focus as much on quantity, we want to focus more on qual-ity and producing that quality product,” Munger said.

See NBP OPEN Page 10


Union Farmer

Torchbearers pictured from left, Jared Kloucek of Scotland, Elizabeth Anne Reddy of Mansfield, Ohio, Tucker Greene of Plankinton, Maria Nightingale of White Lake, Nathan Nugteren of Canistota, Education Director Bonnie Geyer of Huron, Aidan Beck of Huron, Bailey Zwahr of Sioux Falls, Corrie Snedeker of Woonsocket, Taylor Melius of Faulkton and Mitchell Mohror of Dell Rapids. Not pictured: Dylan Wager of Seneca, Alison Nesheim of Woonsocket, Myles Bialas of Dimock and Tawny Barry of Carter.

Torchbearers Reach the Pinnacle

They’ve reached the top. A total of 14 young people were honored during the state convention banquet Feb. 15 with the highest honor youth can receive in Farmers Union: the title of Torchbearer. This year’s Torchbearers are Jared Kloucek of Scotland, Elizabeth Anne Reddy of Mans-field, Ohio, Tucker Greene of Plankinton, Maria Nightingale of White Lake, Nathan Nugteren of Canistota, Aidan Beck of Huron, Bailey Zwahr of Sioux Falls, Corrie Snedeker of Woonsocket, Taylor Melius of Faulkton, Mitchell Mohror of Dell Rapids, Dylan Wager of Seneca, Alison Nesheim of Woonsocket, Myles Bialas of Dimock and Tawny Barry of Carter. “I couldn’t be happier with this outstanding group of young people,” said SDFU Education Director Bonnie Geyer. “They’ve worked incredi-bly hard over the years to achieve this great honor and we’re so excited that so many young people

are engaged in Farmers Union and were able to complete all of the work it takes to become a Torchbearer.” Each Torchbearer wrote a speech about what the Farmers Union youth program has done for them over the years. It was an exciting ceremony to see how far these young people have come. “Farmers Union has given me both leader-ship and social skills that I will continue to use throughout my life,” said Elizabeth Anne Reddy, who lives in Ohio but traveled to South Dakota each summer to attend camps. Her aunt, Denise Mushitz, is a district education director. “Thank you to Farmers Union for helping shape my life in a positive way. I am forever grateful,” Reddy said. “Receiving this honor as a Torchbearer in Farmers Union means a great deal to me and I want to thank all the leaders and members who donate their time and money for this program,”

2012 Senior Advisory Council member Gina Dethlefsen of Stick-ney (left) and Torchbearer Maria Nightingale of White Lake light a candle during the ceremony.

said Tucker Greene. “I am very appreciative and grateful for how this program has made me grow and for all the things I have learned during my involvement.” Mitchell Mohror said he was grateful for how the Farmers Union youth program teaches coop-eration. “Being involved in the Farmers Union youth activities has taught me that working together to get the job done is the most efficient way and also the most fun way to get things done,” he said. “Some of my best friends I have met through my involvement in Farmers Union,” said Bailey Zwahr of Sioux Falls. “I am such a stronger per-son because of the different activities that I have experi-enced. I can go up and start a conversa-tion with anyone, where before I could not. It has informed me about South Dakota, agriculture, cooperatives and many, many dif-ferent things that I didn’t know before and mostly the spirit of cooperation and what a difference this makes now and in my future.” During the Torchbearer ceremony, the young people light a candle and take a pledge to uphold the values of Farmers Union. It’s a special time that these youth will never forget.

South Dakota Farmers Union offered free registration and meals to convention at-tendees that brought non-perishable food items to donate to Safe Harbor, an Ab-erdeen shelter and food pantry. Pictured with the large amount of food collected is Gina Karst, the executive director of Safe Harbor, with SDFU President Doug Som-bke. Thanks to all who gave.

FARMERS GIVING FOOD

There are approximately 10 regional packers in the country, Munger said, and the Aberdeen plant is the most northern regional packer in the U.S. Munger says Northern Beef Packers has over 400 employees right now with plans to increase that number to 600 in the short term. Most of the production employees are starting with an hourly wage of anywhere from $12 to $18. “Those are at or above of industry averages,” Munger said. They have the capacity to process as many as 1,500 head of cattle per day on one shift. Munger says with some capital improvements it could be possible to move to 1,800 head per day. That’s on one shift. If they would move to two shifts they could double the production. Munger said they’re focusing not only on qual-ity cuts but on safety, trying to stay out of what

becomes a major news story if there is a recall. “We wanted to make sure that we would have one of the safest plants in the country. Food safety is becoming an increasing issue across the beef industry. It seems like every other month you’re hearing about recalls. So we take great care in making sure that all the bugs stay off the meat,” Munger said. “We’ve put in an industry-leading number of food safety interventions. We also have an indi-vidual carcass ID system set up in the plant. What that allows us to do is that at any given time we can track where a carcass is in our system.” Munger said the future is exciting for the new beef plant in Aberdeen as they continue to work out some issues and begin to expand their num-bers and their capacity. Munger said if anyone wants to tour the facility they can call NBP to set up a time.

NBP OPEN: Plant has Capacity to Process 1,500 Head of Cattle Per DayContinued from Page 9

Union Farmer


Generosity Shines During ‘A Night on the Prairie’

You might be able to guess who won the dream vacation at this year’s event. Suzy Adams (left) drew the winning number, as Chad Johnson shows his disappointment. Adams gets a trip for two to her choice of Cancun, Alaska or Napa Valley. (We’re told she’s going to choose the Alaskan cruise.)

If you invest in the lives of young people, you invest in the future of South Dakota. That’s what nearly 200 people did during the 8th annual ‘A Night on the Prairie’ fundraiser and gala to benefit the youth and adult education programs supported by the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation. “Each and every year I’m humbled by the generosity of everyone who attends A Night on the Prairie,” said SDFU Foundation Executive Di-rector Leslie Rupiper Morrow. “This year was no exception as so many people opened their hearts and their pocketbooks to give to such a worthy cause.” The evening started with exciting games where attendees were able to play for chances at some great prizes. A flat screen TV, all-in-one computer, an iPad, Kindle Fire, shotguns, a cube of money and much more were up for grabs. Attendees sat down for a delicious banquet dinner and browsed the silent and live auction items featured at the event. Some of the items included a large framed picture of Sen. George McGovern which was owned by the senator him-self, and the featured artist Jon Crane’s beautiful painting of a rural farm scene.

Auctioneer Ben Meyer of Huron (left) and Master of Ceremonies Gene Hammond of Brandon went through all of the live auction items up for bid at ‘A Night on the Prairie.’

Carolyn Petik of Meadow spins the wheel during the games at A Night on the Prairie. Junior Advisory Council member Bailey Zwahr promoting a pheasant hunt during the auction.

DuWayne Bosse of Britton calling bids during the live auction at A Night on the Prairie. Nearly 200 people attended this year’s event at Aberdeen to raise money for the youth and adult education programs supported by the SDFU Foundation.

There were pheasant hunts and a coyote hunt, a golf package and of course the annual dream vacation. This year, the winner had the choice between a trip to Cancun, an Alaskan cruise, or a trip to wine country in Napa Valley, Calif. Thirteen people had a chance at the trip and Suzy

Adams came away with the final prize. “I just want to thank everyone who came out and supported the Foundation,” Rupiper Morrow said. “Each and every one made a difference in the lives of children across the great state of South Dakota.”

Union Farmer


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Union Farmer


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Union FarmerLegislative News By Mike Traxinger Legislative Director

Education Award Recipients20 Year Educator Award

Denise Mushitz District I

40 Year Educator Award

Agnes Pavlin Hutchinson County

St. John’s Local


Heather Kuecker District III


Margaret Sumption Brown County


Tamie Fahrenholz District V

Largest Camp Attendance& Most Members at Camp

Jessica Hotchkiss Beadle County Camp

Some of the award winners were unable to attend the convention. This is the full list of all education award recipients. First Year Leader Awards: Gavin Nuttbrock, Kingsbury County; Holly Reis, Ly-man County. Five Year Leaders: Jason Frerichs, Roberts County; Deanna Bindenagel, Spink County; Tamie Fahrenholz, District V. Ten Year Leader Awards: Ron Foster, Brookings County; Heather Kuecker, District III; Myrna Gottsleben, Haakon County; Margaret Sumption, Brown County; Shari Rossow, Campbell County. Fifteen Year Leader: Joyce Meyer, Deuel County. Twenty Year Award: Denise Mushitz, District I. Thirty Year Award: Wanda Artz, Minnehaha County and Forty Year Award: Agnes Pavlin, St. John’s Local, Hutchinson County.

Farmers Union Award RecipientsFarm & Ranch News Award

Erich SchauffhauserKELO Television

Co-op Partner Award

Harry MewherterDeuel Co. Farmers Union Oil

Co-op Appreciation Award

Ferney Farmers Union Co-op Chad Johnson, President

Insurance Agent Award

Bonnie Wagner Boyd-Wagner Agency, Doland

CBH Cooperative Tammy Basel, Steve Harwood, Directors

Co-op Appreciation Award Oustanding County Award

Deuel/Grant County Russell Gantvoort

President’s Award for Excellence: Don Davis, Farmers Union Industries; Stan Brown, Midwest Agency Insurance.

While drought is common across the major-ity of the state (almost 87 percent is still in a severe drought according to the U.S. Drought Moni-tor), the legislative session is taking time to rework the state’s watershed statutes. As we all know, this is-sue is of utmost important to many parts of the state and now is the time to continue the discussion. Last year, the 2012 Legislature established a three-year Regional Watershed Task Force with the goal of untangling our watershed statutes and drafting legislation to provide for improved water management. This year, Sen. Jason Frerichs, D-Wilmot, and Rep. Brian Gosch, R-Rapid City, brought forth Senate Bill 153. The measure would clarify and remove inconsisten-cies from, and revise certain provisions relating to the formation and operation of watershed districts. SDFU supports this measure and believes it is a good start in clearing up some statutory language prior to the next Regional Watershed Task Force meeting. The bill had passed the Senate and unanimously passed the House Judiciary Committee. It is projected to pass the House and be sent to the governor for his signature. Another bill, Senate Bill 179 had also been introduced. You most likely heard of this bill, as it was the one that would have created a uniform drainage permit system for those coun-ties that currently require permits. It would not have applied to counties who do not pres-ently require drainage permits. SDFU hosted a meeting in Britton Feb. 9 to meet with folks to discuss the merits of the bill. Members had concerns with certain provisions in the drain-age permit, including: an engineer’s determina-tion of the permit requirements; notification of all public property affected; and whether a wetlands determination had been made, list-ing a few. SDFU was opposed to the bill, even though an amendment did make some improve-ments, including the elimination of the engi-neer determination requirement. As always, we appreciated all of the members engaging on this important issue and also showing up to testify. As the task force is expected to continue meeting over the next year, we will look to you for input on the issues that must be ad-dressed to improve the watershed management in our state. We hope to have additional meet-ings across the state. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] or at 605-377-4110.


Union FarmerFoundation News By Leslie Rupiper Morrow SDFU Foundation Executive Director

Greetings from the Farmers Union Founda-tion. The American author William Arthur Ward once said, “Feeling gratitude and not express-ing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” So I want to take this opportunity to send out a big thank you to all who made the 2013 ‘A Night on the Prairie’ such a success. I must admit, there are moments during the early planning of this event, that I wonder how it will all come to-gether. There’s so much to do, so many aspects to think about. Yet, each and every year, thanks to tremendous cooperation and support, I am so pleased with the outcome of ‘A Night on the Prairie.’ In case you weren’t able to attend, here are some of the highlights from this year’s fund-raiser. A bidding war erupted over two kids’ tractors – one John Deere, the other Case IH. The winning bidder would have the opportunity to select the official tractor of the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation. This year’s winner was the little Case IH tractor. Bidders paid be-tween $600 and $900 for 11 wooden birdhouses featuring the Foundation’s logo. Those bird-houses would earn them a chance at a dream vacation to Alaska, Cancun or wine country in Napa Valley, Calif. Wayne Bartscher and Suzy Adams were the lucky trip winners this year. Perhaps the most entertaining item was a gallon of pickled eggs, which sold for $1,100! I’m so grateful for the generosity in the room that night and for those who gave prior to the event. From the sponsors and donors to the bidders – you in-vested in Farmers Union education programs by opening your wallets to support the Foundation. We’re excited to kick off another year of education and leadership programs, and I can assure you, your investments will be used wisely. We are always striving to reach more South Dakota youth and adults. We know that the future of this great state is dependent on those who will follow in our footsteps. Their leadership will keep South Dakota strong and thriving. I applaud you for sharing this vision with the Farmers Union Foundation. Please know that throughout the year, as we help South Dakota’s youth and adults become stronger leaders for the future, I’ll be appreciat-ing the generosity you showed one cold evening in February. After all, it was the poet Maya Angelou who said, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”

More than 100 students from 16 states, in-cluding South Dakota, along with students from Canada learned about cooperatives from experts across the country Feb. 15-17 in the Twin Cities. Students participated in the National Farmers Union College Confer-ence on Cooperatives. Two groups from South Dakota attended the con-ference. One from South Dakota State University and the other from Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown. “This is an opportunity for Farmers Union and the cooperative com-munity to teach young people about coopera-tive business principles and history, to introduce them to a wide variety of co-ops, and to show them that there are great careers in strong, ethical and community-minded businesses,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Cooperatives continue to be viable and successful business models in almost every sector of the U.S. economy.” To bring cooperative education to life for the participants, students vis-ited CHS Inc. headquar-ters and heard from coop-erative leaders, farmers, and government experts who explained current challenges they face. In addition, participants toured housing, retail, and marketing cooperatives in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Presenters ranged from members, direc-tors, employees and managers of traditional and

value-added agricultural cooperatives; speakers from electric, housing, and worker-owned co-ops; as well as consumer cooperatives such as credit unions, REI, and natural foods co-ops. Repre-sentatives offered insights on cooperative devel-

opment here and abroad including efforts involv-ing the Peace Corps and the Minnesota National Guard, which completed a mission to Afghanistan to work with farmers and their cooperatives. The event was spon-sored by the CHS Foun-dation, CoBank, Farmers Union Industries Founda-tion, NFU Foundation, SPIRE Federal Credit

Union, CHS, Inc., Minnesota Cooperative Educa-tion Foundation, Federated Youth Foundation, and Organic Valley. “Farmers Union’s activities involve coopera-tion, education, and advocacy, so it’s incredibly valuable to have events like this to help bring

those topics together,” said Johnson. “Our own history is so closely tied with the cooperative movement. Cooperatives were made possible by legislative activity, and brought to life in communities both rural and urban. Farmers Union has a strong commitment to providing cooperative education not only to our own members, but also to the general public, and

especially to young people, many of whom are just learning about the cooperative way of doing business.”

Cooperatives the Focus of Twin Cities College Conference

The group from South Dakota State University pictured from left to right: Burton Pflueger, SDSU Professor, Brookings; Kristen Fink, Brookings; Jared Pettit, Brookings; and Ame-lia Thompson, Doland.

Front row, left to right, Brock Madsen and Jon Scholmer. Back row, Jamie Carlson, Tasha Hesch, LATI Instructor John Brennan, and Darrick Bunker.

Largest Camp Attendance& Most Members at Camp

two day event. You can see the award winners on page 14. The keynote speaker Friday evening of the convention was former South Dakota Con-gresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Read more about her comments on page 9. Delegates at the convention passed the or-ganization’s grassroots policy program, which included a number of special orders of business. Delegates called on Congress to pass a long-term farm bill and to help locally-controlled financial institutions serving rural and underserved areas

CONVENTION: Special Orders Passedget some relief from recently-passed federal laws and rules that were aimed at large financial institutions, but present a burden to small, local institutions. Other special orders dealt with ger-rymandering and legislative redistricting, animal damage control and wildlife management, water drainage and federal dairy policy. The convention ended with the annual ‘A Night on the Prairie’ fundraiser benefitting the SDFU Foundation. About 200 people attended with all of the proceeds of the event going to fund youth and adult education programs.

Continued from Page 1


Union Farmer The U.S. Postal Service’s announcement that it plans to end Saturday mail delivery this Au-gust could spell trouble for rural America. That’s according to National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. “We are disheartened to hear the USPS’s an-nouncement that Saturday mail deliveries will cease later this year,” Johnson said. “National Farmers Union has a long history in support of the USPS, including rural delivery of mail. The elimi-nation of Saturday delivery, coupled with the loss of good-paying postal jobs, spread over the entire nation, will negatively impact the economy.” Postmaster General Patick Donahoe made the announcement in early February that because of declining revenue, and facing billions of dollars in losses, the USPS will look to make the sweeping change on Aug. 1, 2013. It’s expected to save the Postal Service about $2 billion every year, a small amount given the Postal Service’s losses totaled almost $16 billion last year alone.

End of Saturday Mail Bad for Rural America “Our financial condition is urgent,” said Do-nahoe during a press conference to announce the change. “This is too big of a cost savings for us to ignore.” Over the past few years, the Postal Service has already tried to cut costs several ways. They’ve reduced hours at many small, rural offices and cut staff. They’ve even closed several post offices. NFU’s president says this would be another blow to small communities across the country. “The impacts on rural America will be par-ticularly harmful,” Johnson said. “In many cases, local and regional newspaper delivery to outlying areas will be delayed for days. This not only dam-ages the circulation numbers of the newspaper, but also devalues local information and advertis-ing. Rural businesses do not need this economic blow delivered via the mailbox.” There are several factors to blame for the USPS losing money. The growth in online pur-chases, bill paying and email play a role. Another factor is a requirement that the Postal Service pay

$5.5 billion per year for health benefits to future retirees. That’s a mandate that no other govern-ment agency has. But all is not lost, yet. Congress mandated the Postal Service to deliver mail six days per week beginning in 1981. But the USPS has argued that since a continuing resolution passed by Congress doesn’t specifically include language mandating the post office to deliver on Saturdays, the agency could make the changes without congressional approval. Some members of Congress disagree, so there could be action by lawmakers to stop the Postal Service’s plans. Many members of Congress have stated their displeasure with the announcement and say they plan to fight the proposed changes any way they can. That’s no more evident than in rural states where Saturday deliveries is so important. They’re not planning to end package delivery on Saturdays, a part of their market that has actu-ally seen growth recently.

HERSETH SANDLIN: Agriculture and Business Must Put Focus on Sustainability Going ForwardContinued from Page 9

the United States House of Representatives to make amendments in order and to let members influence that bill and pass the bill to the benefit of not just everyone in this room and everyone in agriculture but for the entire country that has been supported and sustained by the agriculture sector,” she said. Herseth Sandlin was a member of the House Agricul-ture Committee when it passed the 2008 farm bill, and says that legislation is the reason agriculture has seen incredible profitability in recent years and is the reason agriculture was able to weather the economic recession better than other sectors of the economy. “The ag sector remained strong despite that

record drought because of the risk management tools, and the crop insurance, and the safety net that was offered in the 2008 farm bill,” she said. “The reason agriculture was able to weather the economic crisis and slow economic recovery is

because of the 2008 farm bill and the predictabil-ity of strong policy that was balanced across com-modities, conservation, energy, rural development, science, marketing and all of the other titles in the farm bill.

I can’t tell you how proud I was to rep-

resent you at that time, to take your counsel and guidance and to pass a strong bill in a bipartisan way through regular order that served agriculture and America so well,” she said. “Thankfully (Senate Agriculture Committee)

Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow has convinced (Senate Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid to make the farm bill in 2013 a top priority and I hope that despite what we’ve seen on sequestration and the budget that the farm bill can experience the same kind of momentum, the same kind of bipartisan support, the same kind of commitment to pass it into law as I expect immigration reform will get in this Congress,” Herseth Sandlin said. Now an attorney and vice president for Raven Industries of Sioux Falls, Herseth Sandlin said her current job keeps her engaged in agriculture because of the company’s commitment to technol-ogy and entrance into precision agriculture mar-kets. She discussed the issue of sustainability in agriculture, and using new technologies to work smarter and create a more sustainable future. “When you look at what we need to do to feed 9 billion people by 2050 we have to do it by continuing to enhance productivity in American agriculture, and we’re doing it. And we need to keep doing it supported by smart, long-term pub-lic policy that’s right for American agriculture,” she said. “It’s about incorporating innovative new technologies, and smart, sustainable agricultural practices that use the best science of our land grant universities in partnership with develop-ing countries to make sure we can feed 9 billion people by 2050.”

Members of the Farmers Union Collegiate Chapter at S.D. State University with Steph-anie Herseth Sandlin. From left are Zack Vos of Clark, Brigette Nemec of Holabird, Herseth Sandlin, and Mason Farber of Britton.


Bill Introduced to Close Loopholes, Cap Farm Payments Senators Chuck Grassley, Tim Johnson, Mike Enzi and Sherrod Brown Tuesday introduced leg-islation that would place a hard cap on the farm payments an individual farmer can receive in a year and close long-abused and well-documented loopholes in the farm payment program. The Farm Pro-gram Integrity Act of 2013 is similar to a provision included in the Senate’s version of the farm bill passed in 2012 that was stalled in the U.S. House and was never enacted. This measure sets a combined federal farm payment limit of $125,000 for individual farm-ers, $250,000 per couple. It’s being introduced as a standalone bill and would apply to commodity programs developed as part of the new farm bill. “I commend Sens. Johnson and Grassley for bringing this issue to the forefront again in this Congress,” said South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke. “We had hoped that the House would’ve passed a farm bill last year rather

than let the 2008 bill expire, but I’m glad to see Sen. Johnson and Sen. Grassley continue to push for a payment limit that is extremely important. This will save taxpayers money as it reduces some of the excessive payments some large op-erations in our country have received for years.” “A strong safety net is critical to ensuring a safe and affordable food supply,” Sen. Grassley said. “The Senate-passed farm bill made some important strides in this area, so it’s important we retain and build on those provisions. Ending some of the most egregious abuses of the farm program will ensure that the farm program pay-ments are going to those who need them most. It’s unacceptable that small- and medium-sized farmers get so little of the very program that was created to help them.” Beyond the hard caps on farm payments, The Farm Program Integrity Act of 2013 also includes a provision to begin closing the loopholes that al-low people who aren’t involved in farming to col-lect farm payments. The legislation defines what it means to be “actively engaged” in farming and allows for only one manager of a farm that can be eligible for payments. “Right now, a farm could have an unlimited number of ‘managers’ who are collecting gov-ernment payments, including people who aren’t really farmers at all,” Sombke said. “That isn’t right. This bill defines what it means to be “ac-

tively engaged” in farming and it’s a positive step to close loopholes that some take advantage of.” “Ensuring our farm program payments are directed to the small and medium sized family farmers is a concept that folks from both sides of

the aisle support. We face a number of dif-ficult budgetary chal-lenges, and establish-ing a hard cap on payments and closing loopholes within the program will help to reduce the deficit while also reaffirm-ing the legitimacy of our farm programs,” Johnson said.

Landowners who share rent land to an actively-

engaged producer remain exempt from the “ac-tively engaged” rules provided their payments are commensurate to their risk in the crop produced. This provision will help the Department of Ag-riculture crack down on the general partnerships that have multiple non-farmers trying to qualify for farm payments by exploiting the management loophole.

Sen. Tim Johnson Sen. Charles Grassley

Union FarmerEnd of Saturday Mail Bad for Rural America

Four Delegates Chosen for NFU Convention Four delegates were elected from South Da-kota to attend the National Farmers Union con-vention March 2-5 at Springfield, Mass. The delegates are Tammy Basel, a sheep and cattle rancher from Union Center; Lisa Snedeker, who works at Dakotaland Federal Credit Union in Huron and farms with her husband, Mark, near Woonsocket; Steve Harwood, a rancher from Union Center and a member of the CBH Coop-erative Board of Directors; and Paul Dennert, a Columbia-area farmer and former state legislator. The delegates will travel to Massachusetts to discuss and vote on policy directives on the na-tional level. The National Farmers Union conven-tion will include policy discussion, speakers, tours of agriculture in the New England area, and other events through the four-day event. Other voting delegates will be SDFU President Doug Sombke, Vice President Wayne Soren and board member Terry Sestak.

Lisa Snedeker Tammy Basel

Paul Dennert Steve Harwood

NEWS, EVENTS & MORE ONLINE NOW! WWW.SDFU.ORG


Union Farmer

CHS Foundation Scholarships

Farmers Union Footnotes

High school and two-year college students are invited to apply for a $1,000 scholarship from the CHS Foundation.• Two year college students: 25 $1,000 scholarships are available for first-year students studying an agricultural-related major at any two-year college.• High school students: 50 $1,000 scholarships are available for seniors pursuing an ag-related major at any two-year or four-year college.• University students: 150 scholarships are available to students working towards an ag-related major at 30 universities across the nation. Click here for a list of participating universities. You can find application information online at www.chsfoundation.org/upartnerships.html Applications are due April 1, 2013.

The 2013 South Dakota State Fair will be magical with its “Starry Nights & Midway Lights” theme. “Announcing our theme and logo is always an exciting part of the planning year,” said State Fair Manager Jerome Hertel. “We chose this theme so we can play off of the carnival and entertainment lineup in our marketing.” Visitors to the 2013 State Fair will be treated with the finest midway in South Dakota, along with a great grandstand lineup and plenty of events to keep the whole family entertained all day and into the night. State Fair concert announcements are scheduled to begin the week of Feb. 11. An updated State Fair logo has also been de-signed and can be viewed at www.sdstatefair.com The 2013 South Dakota State Fair will run from Thursday, Aug.29, through Monday, Sept. 2. Pre-view night will be Wednesday, Aug. 28. For more information on State Fair events, contact the Fair office at 800-529-0900, visit www.sdstatefair.com or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

2013 State Fair Theme Announced

Four South Dakota beef producers were elected or appointed to influential committees and positions of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB) and the Federation of State Beef Councils during both organizations’ annual meetings at the 2013 Cattle Industry Convention in Tampa in February. Gary Sharp, a dairy and beef producer from Bath, was elected to serve on the CBB Executive Committee. The 12-member Executive Committee is responsible for carrying out Beef Board policies and conducting business and making decisions nec-essary to administer the terms and provisions of the Act and Order between meetings of the full Board. Linda Gilbert, Buffalo, a national director on the CBB, and Becky Walth, Glenham, a national direc-tor on the Federation, will both serve on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee. The 20-member Beef Promotion Operating Committee helps coordi-nate state and national Beef Checkoff Programs. In other appointments, Danni Beer, Keldron, SD, was named to chair the CBB’s new Producer Communi-cations Working Group. South Dakota is also represented on the CBB by Vaughn Meyer of Reva. Additional South Dakotans serving on the Federation are: Scott Jones, Midland; Ed Blair, Vale; Karla Pazour, Pukwana; and Georgia Talsma, Springfield. “South Dakota producers are well represented on the Beef Board,” says Ron Frederick, executive director of the South Dakota Beef Industry Council. “We definitely have a place at the table in terms of how the beef checkoff is administered and how checkoff dollars are spent on the national level.”

South Dakotans Elected to National CBB Positions

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson submitted comments Feb. 20 to the Bi-cameral Task Force on Climate Change, addressing how the federal government can effectively address climate change. “The past year has seen extreme weather events of unusual force. Most scientists agree that these events are likely only to increase in intensity and frequency,” said Johnson. “These types of extreme weather events will continue to affect NFU mem-bers’ ability to provide food, feed, fiber and fuel to our nation. While it is unlikely that every storm that we experience can be related to climate change, the science is clear that if we do not act now to mitigate and adapt, our agricultural system and the country at large will be at risk.” In his comments, Johnson argued that a well-constructed mandatory cap and trade system would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that farmers and ranchers can make significant contribu-tions to address climate change. “Given the right incentives, agriculture can play a significant role in such a system though carbon se-questration projects on agricultural lands as well as capturing emissions from stored manure livestock facilities,” Johnson noted. “Any climate change legislation should be crafted using the expertise of the agriculture sector and should financially reward producers for sequestering carbon in order to offset higher energy costs.” The Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change is co-chaired by U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and is dedicated to focusing congressional and public at-tention on climate change and developing effective policy responses. Responses will help inform Con-gress and the federal government about the menu of options available to address climate change.

NFU: Agriculture Must be Included in Climate Change Solution

Scott Sabers of Sturgis was recently honored at the Farmers Union Insur-ance Agency’s annual meeting held in Aberdeen Feb. 15 with the organiza-tion’s prestigious ‘Ring of Excellence’ award. Scott is the first recipi-ent of this exclusive award since 2007. The award recognizes Scott’s superior performance during the past year in the areas of agency growth development, first-class customer service and agency professionalism.

Sabers Receives ‘Ring of Excellence’

Scott Sabers

March 13-14, 2013, ethanol advocates from around the country will meet in Washington, D.C., to visit with congressional offices, bringing an important message - the Renewable Fuel Standard is working. Ethanol benefits consumers, decreases our dependence on foreign oil, and plays a critical role in the future of our nation’s energy independence. The ‘Biofuels Beltway March’ is hosted by the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE). Participants will have several meetings on Capitol Hill to discuss biofuels with members of Congress and their staffs. Participants are requested to arrange their own travel and accommodations - ACE will arrange meetings and prepare all materials for your meet-ings. Contact ACE at [email protected] or 605-334-3381 ext. 16 if you are interested in joining grassroots ethanol advocates at the next DC Fly-In.

‘Biofuels Beltway March’ in DC

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan visited South Dakota State University Feb. 27 to an-nounce more than $75 million in grants for research, education and extension activities to ensure greater food security in the United States and around the world. The awards were made to teams at 21 U.S. uni-versities to conduct research that will find solutions to increasing food availability and decreasing the number of food insecure individuals. “Millions of American households lack the resources to access sufficient food, and many of those, including our children, may go hungry at least once this year,” said Merrigan. “The grants announced today will help policymakers and oth-ers better recognize the food and nutrition needs of low-income communities in our country, while improving the productivity of our nation’s agricul-ture to meet those needs. This year’s funded projects include research at South Dakota State University to examine community efforts to encourage healthy food choices.

USDA Official Visits S.D. State

Union FarmerFarmers Union Footnotes Clip & Save Calendar

March 20132-5 NFU Convention, Mass. 8 Main Legislative Session Ends16 District II Meeting, Humboldt23 Ag Day Wash. Pavilion, Sioux Falls25 Last Day of Session (Veto Day)

April 20131 State Camp Planning Mtg, Huron 6 Lyman County Meeting, Presho 15 Quiz Bowl Semifinals (Brookings)

Visit the Events section at www.sdfu.org for more details on upcoming events.

May 20136-10 Summer Intern Training 27 State Office Closed (Mem. Day) 28-31 District I&II Camp (Swan Lake)

District III Farmers Union’s representative on the state board of directors Franklin Olson of Pierpont will turn 80 years young on March 10, 2013. We wish him a very happy birthday! If you would like to send send him a card: Franklin Olson 42848 129th Street Pierpont, SD 57468

Anniversaries

June 20132-7 State Camp (Storm Mountain)19 Foundation Golf Tourn. (Huron)23-28 All State’s Camp, Bailey, Colo.

The South Dakota Union Farmer is published 10 times per calendar year with issues in January, February, March, April, May/June, July, Aug./Sept., October, November, and December. All informa-tion for publication must be submitted by the 15th of the month. You may submit items by mail to the State Of-fice, P.O. Box 1388, Huron, SD 57350 or email items to: [email protected]

July 20137-10 Dist. III & VII Camp (Lake Rich.)29-31 3-Year Award Trip, Mpls30- Aug 1 Dist. IV, V & VI Camp (Custer)

Birthdays

Robert and Magdeline Bame of Tyndall celebrat-ed their 67th wedding anniversary Feb. 25, 2013. They have been members of South Dakota Farmers Union for over 60 years. If you would like to send them a card: Robert & Magdeline Bame 305 W. 16th Ave. Tyndall, SD 57066

Passings

Viola Jaton, 78, of Nunda, died at the Madison Community Hospital Feb. 19, 2013. Funeral Ser-vices were held Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Grace Lutheran Church in Nunda with the Rev. Paul Johanson officiating. Burial was in the Winfred Cemetery. Viola Jean Lauck was born Sept. 4, 1934, at Win-fred to Verty and Bessie (Tarrell) Lauck. She grew up on a farm near Winfred. She married Calvin Ja-ton at Pipestone, Minn., August 11, 1951. After they were married they farmed south of Arlington from 1951 until moving to a farm near Nunda in 1964. She was a member of the Women of Life at Grace Lutheran Church. She enjoyed sewing and scrapbooking. She is survived by her husband; three sons, Rodney (Donna) of Ramona, Michael (Suzanne) of Rutland, and Steve (Virginia) of Nunda; two daughters, Audrey (Joel) Keierleber of Colome, and Penny Hopf of Ramona; 14 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren; a brother, Dale (Pat) Lauck of Madison. She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Laurence; and a sister, Thelma; a son, Gary in 1983; a grandson, Justin, in 2011 and a daughter in infancy.

August 201329-Sept. 2 S.D. State Fair, Huron31 Farmers Union Day, State Fair

Documents

South Dakota Union Farmer - March 2013