Farming

Dave Fendrich (walking) helps Bryant Hofer (in combine) harvest a field of corn on Oct. 2, 2013, near Salem. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Q&A: Carbon pipeline execs say ethanol’s future hangs in the balance

BY: - November 29, 2023

MARION — If South Dakota’s ethanol industry does not reduce the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide it emits into the atmosphere, the industry’s future is grim. That’s according to two top executives of the remaining carbon-capture pipeline company hoping to capture, liquefy and bury carbon dioxide from South Dakota ethanol plants. They said markets around […]

COMMENTARY
A no-till field at Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Hughes County. (Colette Kessler, USDA NRCS South Dakota)

Climate change makes farm bill conservation programs crucial

BY: - November 28, 2023

While people from around the country think of South Dakota as the home of Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, we are at our core a state powered and defined by our farms and ranches. Agriculture is the South Dakota’s top producing industry, generating almost $12 billion for the economy […]

Big Sioux River floodwaters flow over farm fields, sending sediment downstream toward Lake Kampeska and beyond on April 13, 2023. (Brad Johnson/For South Dakota Searchlight)

State’s $3 million Big Sioux cleanup project is slow to catch on

BY: - November 24, 2023

A $3 million program created by the state in 2021 to reduce agricultural pollution in the Big Sioux River has attracted two sign-ups, while drawing criticism for duplicating existing local projects. Meanwhile, the state has doubled the financial incentives for landowners in an effort to attract more interest. Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, introduced the […]

Millions of grassland acres lost in Great Plains, new research report says

BY: - October 26, 2023

The Great Plains lost 1.6 million acres of grasslands in 2021. That’s according to a World Wildlife Fund report released on Thursday, detailing the loss of grasslands in the U.S. and Canadian Great Plains. From 2012 to 2021, grassland conversion in the Great Plains totaled 32 million acres, or 50,000 square miles.  The Plowprint report […]

A combine moves through a field on Oct. 2, 2023 in Douglas County, SD. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Farm bill stalled amid U.S. House speaker battle, delay of spending bills

BY: - October 6, 2023

WASHINGTON —  As Congress faces another pressing deadline to fund the government and the U.S. House grinds to a halt without a speaker, the reauthorization of the nation’s agriculture and hunger programs has taken a back seat. But lawmakers tasked with shepherding the new version maintain their progress is “in good shape.” The previous farm […]

Katy Rogers, the farm manager at Teter Organic Farm and Retreat Center in Noblesville, Indiana, inspects produce growing in one of the high tunnels at the farm on June 21, 2022. (NRCS/USDA photo by Brandon O’Connor)

As consumers flock to organic foods, lawmakers urge more federal grants for farmers

BY: - October 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are pushing a bill that would boost support for organic farmers amid rising demand for their products. U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Angus King of Maine in the Senate, alongside U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree of Maine and Annie Kuster of New Hampshire in the House, introduced the Organic Market […]

COMMENTARY
Wind turbines in a Wisconsin field. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A bright spot at the intersection of farming, electric vehicles and solar energy

BY: - September 30, 2023

The energy transition is in full swing across the U.S. and the world, but the changes now underway are not simple or linear. In an economy as complex and connected as ours, progress in one area will often affect other parts of the economy, creating winners and losers. And then there are the changes that […]

Kevin Kirby operates a tractor to begin the sweet potato harvest process by plowing them up from the field on Kirby Farms in Mechanicsville, Virginia, on Sep. 20, 2013. Kirby is a fourth-generation farmer. (USDA photo by Lance Cheung.)

Senators probe foreign ownership of ag land; Rounds measure would ban several countries

BY: - September 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators said during a Wednesday hearing that foreign ownership of U.S. farmland is a national security threat that should be further examined. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry discussed foreign ownership of the nation’s agricultural lands, with testimony from experts and Senate colleagues who have been taking the lead […]

A farmer harvests corn near Slater, Iowa. on Oct. 17, 2020.

Big gains projected in South Dakota corn and soybean production

BY: - September 13, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting South Dakota’s 2023 corn harvest at 816 million bushels, up 23% from last year’s production, based on new field and survey data.  South Dakota farmers will harvest corn on 5.59 million acres. That’s 12% more than last year. The department estimates farmers will harvest an average of 146 […]

Dave Fendrich (walking) helps Bryant Hofer (in combine) harvest a field of corn on Oct. 2, 2013, near Salem. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Farm profits reached new heights last year, but are expected to drop in 2023

BY: - September 12, 2023

As food prices rose around the country, so did farmers’ take-home pay. Net farm profits rose by 30% from 2021 to 2022, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the same time, food prices inflated by more than 10%. The USDA predicts farm incomes will drop by about 20% in 2023 […]

A farmhand connects milking equipment to dairy cow udders inside the parlor building at Boadwine Farms in Baltic. (Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight)

Not all livestock operations in South Dakota have to manage waste equally

BY: - September 4, 2023

A large feedlot near Watertown with about 10,000 cattle was recently disciplined for not properly managing its manure.  But not by the state. It was the Codington County Board of Adjustment that responded to public complaints. The board found the operation violated 25 zoning ordinances or permit requirements. As a result, the board decided to […]

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, vice president of government and public affairs for Navigator CO2, debates state Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, on Aug. 22, 2023, at the Dacotah Bank Event Center in Brookings as moderator Sara Frankenstein looks on. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

During debate with lawmaker, carbon pipeline executive calls eminent domain a ‘last resort’

BY: - August 22, 2023

BROOKINGS — An executive for a carbon dioxide pipeline company said during a debate Tuesday evening that eminent domain is “a tool of absolute last resort.” Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, vice president of government and public affairs for Navigator CO2, debated state Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, at the Dacotah Bank Event Center. Hansen is a critic […]