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Categories:The Rural Lobbyist: Non-Meandered Water and Precision Agriculture Bills Move Forward
Non-meandered water took another step toward finality this week. Senate bill 199, an attempt to provide a petition process for opening and closing water, was unable to garner enough votes to see a debate on the Senate floor. Expect to see the Governor’s Senate bill 24 working to extend the current summer session language until […]
Read MoreSouth Dakota Farmers Union Kicks Off Campaign to Raise Awareness of Farm Bill
Working to raise awareness of the need for a 2018 farm bill, South Dakota Farmers Union teamed up with other states and National Farmers Union to launch a digital campaign. The campaign includes a website (2018farmbill.org), a farm bill video, animated short videos, weekly promotions and a petition. Sumption is among several family farmers asked […]
Read MoreThe Rural Lobbyist: Non-meandered water up for discussion with SB 199 and 24.
The Governor signed Senate Bill 26, which was introduced by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require Class A grain buyers to provide a financial statement to the PUC quarterly rather than semi-annually. A small step to increase the transparency into their financial health. S. D. Farmers Union supported and urged its passage.Non-meandered water continues […]
Read MoreFFA Provides Personal & Professional Development
Why did you join the FFA? Avery Gilchrist, State Reporter from Winner answers: FFA is sort of a family tradition. Both of my grandparents were members of the Menno FFA Chapter and my mom, Rhonda Woehl, was an FFA adviser. What kept me involved was the Natural Resources career development event. I love hunting so […]
Read MoreCoffee: It’s Good For The Soul A Look at This Time Honored Tradition
Beyond the feel good reasons Connecting with friends on a regular basis is good for your health, says Andrea Bjornestad, Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development at South Dakota State University & SDSU Extension Mental Health Specialist. “We all have a human need to feel connected to others,” Bjornestad explains. “To feel connected, […]
Read MoreThe Rural Lobbyist: E-30 Resolution Passes House Transportation Committee
This week proved to be a very busy one in Pierre as all bill drafts needed to be submitted by the end of the week. Currently there are 319 House bills and 215 Senate bills, these numbers are considerably more than last year. The new legislators are now in their second year, understand the process […]
Read MoreS.D. Farmers Union Urges Leadership to Vote with Senators Thune & Rounds to Make Section 199A of Tax Code Permanent
Since most farms don’t have a significant wage base, they were able to use wages passed through from their cooperative. In 2018, under current law (199A) farmers are allowed a 20 percent deduction based on net farm income and net taxable income less net capital gains and cooperative distributions. Once that deduction is calculated, the […]
Read MoreFarmers Union Opposed to Repeal of Tax Provision for Co-ops
Efforts by U.S. senators to reform a tax provision passed into law December 2017 may not be in the best interest of farmers or the viability of cooperatives, said Doug Sombke, President of South Dakota Farmers Union. The provision in question involves Section 199 of the tax code which applies to agricultural products marketed through […]
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