News Releases

Farmers Union Day at the State Fair

Kolousek Family Shares How Soil Health Extends Grazing Season and Keeps Soil from Blowing

By Lura Roti, for South Dakota Farmers Union If you take care of the soil, it will take care of you, explained fourth-generation Wessington Springs farmer, Dick Kolousek. “The more we can do to keep the soil productive, the more the soil will produce – even in dry years,” Dick said during a Soil Health […]

Members Support Family Farms Through Policy

Members guide South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) through grassroots policy development that supports family farms and ranches. It’s been this way since the beginning explains Doug Sombke, SDFU President and Conde farmer. “For more than a century, our family farm and ranch focus has united us as members – not a specific commodity or issue,” […]

Rural Youth Leaders Eager to Serve & Strengthen Farmers Union Camp Experience

Melanie Raap-Eitreim, Aeriel Eitreim’s mom attended Farmers Union camp as a kid. She’s the reason Aeriel signed up to attend Farmers Union camp with her cousins 10 years ago. Ashley Hanson has a similar story. Her dad, Lorrie, attended Farmers Union camp when he was a kid. “My dad liked Farmers Union camp and he […]

South Dakota Famers Union to President: If You Want to Increase Fuel Supplies Come See What We Are Doing Here

Huron, SD, July 19. 2022:  Forget Saudi Arabia: Biden Should Have Gone to South Dakota. That was the message from South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke in an editorial in the Argus Leader Newspaper this week. “We have a home-grown product that has been proven to significantly improve gasoline quality and save billions at […]

SD Farmers Union President Urges President Biden to Look Closer to Home For Gas Price Answers

Forget Saudi Arabia: Biden Should Have Gone to South Dakota (Reprinted from the Argus Leader July 17, 2022)   President Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia to beg for more oil seems unnecessary to us—he could have saved himself a long trip by coming to see what is being done right here in South Dakota. Sky […]

Students Grow in Leadership Through Challenges and Activities During 2022 Farmers Union Camp

by Toby Kane for South Dakota Farmers Union Leadership isn’t necessarily taught. It is something learned over time through challenges, inspiration and discussion. That was part of the message from this year’s South Dakota Farmers Union Senior Camp held at Storm Mountain Center. On June 6-10, students participated in a variety of activities from ropes […]

Update on Policy Supporting Fair & Transparent Markets for Cattle Producers

Just a few months following his National Farmers Union keynote address, Montana Sen. Jon Tester provided cattle producers with an update on the work underway in D.C. for fair prices. “If we want rural America to remain strong and vibrant, it’s critical that the cattle producers that feed us have access to fair markets and […]