Ranching

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 […]

Dave Fendrich (walking) helps Bryant Hofer (in combine) harvest a field of corn on October 2, 2013, near Salem, South Dakota. (Photo by 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 […]

Pieces of Good Meat's cultivated chicken are shown at the Eat Just office in Alameda, Calif., June 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Was that chicken cutlet grown in a lab? These states (including SD) want you to know.

BY: - August 31, 2023

Select U.S. restaurants have begun serving laboratory-grown chicken, spurring long wait times for reservations by diners curious to taste it. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave final approval for a few California-based companies to begin selling lab-produced chicken across the country. While it may be years before lab-grown meat is available at grocery […]

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

Farm bill timeline in flux as a messy September for Congress nears

BY: - August 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — The roundtables, listening sessions and appearances at farm shows have largely wrapped up and lawmakers tasked with reauthorizing the nation’s agriculture and nutrition programs are comparing notes and beginning to draft the massive, multi-year farm bill. The 2018 version expires Sept. 30, just as many urgent priorities compete for floor time in Congress […]

COMMENTARY
Some farmers have argued that their land shouldn't be subject to eminent domain for liquid carbon dioxide pipelines. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Riding the tilt-a-whirl of ag land values

BY: - August 12, 2023

The dizzy tilt-a-whirl of rising South Dakota agricultural land values may be slowing, but the challenge of keeping pace is enough to make people queasy. Two recent reports, one in late July by Farm Credit Services of America (FCSA), and another in August by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provide the latest insight into […]

Cattle graze in a field outside of North English, Iowa, on Sept. 13, 2017. (USDA photo by Preston Keres)

USDA’s climate grants for farms and forests run into Republican buzzsaw

BY: - August 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is spending more than $3 billion to cultivate more American farmers and forest landowners as partners to mitigate climate change — even while some Republicans on Capitol Hill try to stop the program entirely. The administration launched a new farm program, Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities, this year. It is […]

COMMENTARY
(Getty Images)

Cultivating the next crop of America’s farmers

BY: - August 1, 2023

I consider my days in the sun as a young, organic farmer to be the most rewarding work I’ve done. The days were long, hot and unforgiving, but I felt free. Farmers have my utmost respect and I believe them to be the backbone of America. But for young people like me, becoming a full-time […]

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks at an event at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon, on July 31, 2023. (Jacob Fischler/StatesNewsroom)

U.S. ag secretary touts Biden climate agenda as boost for rural America

BY: - July 31, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community […]

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 28, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)

Senate approves Rounds amendment to block ag land purchases by adversaries

BY: - July 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators approved bipartisan amendments to the annual defense policy bill Tuesday night that would prohibit China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing U.S. farmland and screen American investment in high-tech ventures on foreign adversary soil. By a 91-7 vote (including yes votes from both of South Dakota’s senators), the lawmakers approved […]

An aerial view from a drone shows a combine being used to harvest the soybeans in a field at the Bardole & Sons farm on Oct. 14, 2019, in Rippey, Iowa. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

State has one record of acting on 44-year-old foreign ag land law

BY: - July 21, 2023

In the late 1970s, amid national worry that foreigners might be buying up agricultural land and driving up the price, South Dakota lawmakers decided to act. They passed a law limiting foreign ownership of farm and ranch land to 160 acres. Now, 44 years later, as the issue of foreign ownership is back in the […]

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks during a roundtable at Landus Cooperative’s headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 29, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

U.S. Department of Agriculture to spend $300M to boost climate data in farming, forestry

BY: - July 12, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend $300 million to better measure the effectiveness of techniques to lower carbon emissions in farming and forestry, the department said Wednesday. The funding comes from a $20 billion allocation for climate-smart agriculture in the climate and social policy law Democrats in Congress passed along party lines and President […]