Meet South Dakota Farm & Ranch Families During National Ag Week

March 15, 2016 – By #South Dakota Farmer UnionDuring National Ag Week, South Dakota Farmers Union and its 17,000-plus members want to introduce South Dakotans to a few of the many farm and ranch families who make up the state’s number one industry by inviting the public to read their stories which can be found on the organization’s website, www.sdfu.org.

 Since 2014, the organization has highlighted a different farm or ranch family each month – capturing their stories and photographing the family’s agriculture operations.

“As we were about to celebrate 100 years of service to South Dakota family farmers, ranchers and rural communities, we launched the Celebrate Farm & Ranch Family program as a way to share the stories of the families who make up our state’s number one industry,” explains Karla Hofhenke, SDFU Executive Director.

 What began as a year-long project, has evolved into a series with no definite end. “South Dakota agriculture is chalk full of amazing individuals and families – who have very interesting stories to tell. I hope to keep writing their stories for as long as possible,” says Lura Roti, the freelance agriculture journalist hired by SDFU to capture the stories. “Even if the crops they raise are the same as their neighbor’s, no family’s story is the same. How they got started, how they overcome challenges and the innovative ways they sustain their farm or ranch for future generation are unique, inspiring and interesting.”

 Today, South Dakota Farmers Union is led by Doug Sombke, a fourth-generation Conde farmer who farms with his three sons. His family was highlighted November 2015. “Farmers and ranchers are a humble lot. We don’t do a very good job talking about the work that we do. However, today, more than ever before, when so few people actually live on farms, it is so important to share our stories,” Sombke explains. “Our consumers want to know where their food comes from. How it is raised and how we as farmers and ranchers care for our natural resources. We hope this project answers some of these questions and provides consumers with a window into our lives and livelihoods.”

---

Last Modified: 03/15/2016 2:41:40 pm MDT