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Categories:Communications Cooperatives Connect Students Without Internet
By Lura Roti for SD Farmers Union March 13, 2020 School Districts across South Dakota went remote to slow the spread of COVID-19. Instantly, Wessington Springs Superintendent Pandi Pittman was helping 63 staff and the families of 265 students navigate learning from home. “It was a very shocking situation. You’re sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my […]
Read MoreCo-op General Manager Reflects on Career of Service to Member/Owners
By Lura Roti for South Dakota Farmers Union Cooperatives are unique, explains Rosebud Farmers Union Cooperative General Manager, Clayton Whitney. “Unlike other businesses, when you work for a cooperative, you’re actually working for your customers. Your patrons are the ones who own the company.” Serving Farmers Union Cooperative patrons for 25 years now, Whitney doesn’t […]
Read More$2,500 Graduate Scholarship Designed to Support Future of Agriculture
Advancements in agriculture research and technology are essential to tomorrow’s farmers and ranchers. To support the future of South Dakota’s family farmers and ranchers, Traveler’s Motor Club together with South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) Foundation provides a $2,500 scholarship annually to a South Dakota graduate student, pursuing an agriculture degree. “Educating the next generation is […]
Read MoreAdvocating for Ag Looks a Bit Different in 2020
Advocating on behalf of South Dakota’s family farmers and ranchers kept 35 S.D. Farmers Union (SDFU) members busy September 14-18 during the National Farmers Union (NFU) 2020 D.C. Virtual Fly-In. “The power is with the people, if the people will just get involved,” explains Gregory cattle producer, Brett Kenzy. “They are our representatives. They are […]
Read MoreU.S. House & Senate Ag Committee Members Meet with S.D. Farmers Union Members During 2020 Virtual Fly-In
The message was clear. It does make a difference when farmers and ranchers make time to meet with Congressional leaders to share their story. “You are our bosses. You are the VIPs. You’re in charge. Remember that. And nothing is more eloquent to a member of Congress than the voice of his or her own […]
Read MoreThe Future of Farming Depends On It: SD Farmers & Ranchers Meet with Congressional Leaders This Week
South Dakota farmers and ranchers meet with congressional leaders and staff during the annual National Farmers Union D.C. Fly-In, held virtually Sept. 14-18. “This is a pivotal time in agriculture,” said Doug Sombke, SD Farmers Union President. “Congressional leaders need to hear from us. If we don’t share our story, who will?” Sombke said pre-COVID-19, […]
Read MoreStronger Together
As a fourth-generation farmer watching his sons and their peers face many of the same struggles his generation of farmers faced and as President of South Dakota’s largest general agriculture organization, Doug Sombke has often wondered how bad things would need to get for family farmers and ranchers before positive policy change happens. “It seems […]
Read MoreState’s Oldest Agriculture Organization Deeply Committed to South Dakota State Fair
Jim Woster didn’t discover the South Dakota State Fair until his freshman year of college. It was fall 1958 and some of the new friends he’d met at South Dakota State University were heading to Huron to show cattle. They invited him to tag along. “It didn’t take me long to realize I’d been missing […]
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