Opportunities for Ag

 
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
June 20, 2025  

Ag is king in South Dakota, plain and simple. This past week, we hosted the annual Governor’s Ag Summit in historic Deadwood. In my first year as Governor, it was pretty special to have the summit in my back yard!

Even if attendees at the Summit come from different parts of the state, they were all attending for the same reason: to advance South Dakota agriculture. We spent time building relationships and sharing ideas. And we walked away reinvigorated to chase down opportunities in agriculture.

Agriculture means everything to me and my family. We’ve ranched the land near Union Center for five generations, and I’ve spent my entire life ranching cattle. A big part of the Ag Summit was focused on helping family farms succeed so they can pass their land and legacy down to their kids and grandkids.

Earlier this year, the Noem-Rhoden Administration announced the restructuring of the Keep Farmers Farming program. We worked with the South Dakota Ag Foundation and First Dakota National Bank to be able to offer this program to help more family farms. Keep Farmers Farming advises farmers on estate planning so that they can pass their experience, work ethic, morals, and history down to those who come after them. By supporting family farms, we help keep South Dakota ag strong for generations to come.

The Summit also focused on new opportunities for ag that are possible because of the Trump Administration’s actions. I’ve gotten to know our US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins very well over the last few months. She’s been a game changer for us here in South Dakota!

Secretary Rollins helped us get our timber industry on more solid footing, which will really benefit both our safety and prosperity in the Black Hills. She’s worked with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to unleash our ethanol industry, which helps our farmers. And she’s addressing the bird flu issue in a way that doesn’t cause the price of eggs to go through the roof for South Dakota families. And she worked with me to drop the charges on the Maude family and get a resolution to their case. Like us here in South Dakota, she is focused on opportunities.

We emphasized opportunities for South Dakota ag, rather than challenges, at the Ag Summit. I believe that the difference between challenges and opportunities is largely one of perspective, so we are keeping an optimistic perspective for the future of agriculture.

Over the past couple months, I’ve seen many ag operations and businesses on my Open for Opportunity tour across South Dakota. I’ve been blown away by everything that’s possible in South Dakota, including developments in precision ag, grain processing, and advancements in the dairy industry.

South Dakota is a pretty special place. We’re the freest state in a nation built on the principle of freedom. 100 to 150 years ago, homesteaders came west and settled the wild untamed prairie, and my family was among them. Many homesteaders failed, but the toughest succeeded. They built a life for their families; they built a state for their kids and grandkids. And they created a culture of hard work, determination, personal responsibility, and respect for freedom.

That culture continues to keep our state strong today, and that same South Dakota spirit will keep agriculture strong for many years to come!

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