South Dakota Department of Agriculture News Release

For Immediate Release:  May 30, 2019

Media Contact: Maggie Stensaas, 605.773.4073

Governor’s Ag Summit Features U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Governor Noem’s Next Generation Panel

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Agriculture today announced two headline items for the 2019 Governor’s Agriculture Summit: a keynote address by Stephen Censky, the Deputy U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and Governor Kristi Noem’s Next Generation of Agriculture panel.

Deputy Secretary Censky will be the keynote speaker on July 10, discussing timely topics in agriculture and providing updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Censky grew up on a soybean, corn and diversified livestock farm near Jackson Minnesota. He obtained his B.S. in Agriculture from South Dakota State University and received his postgraduate Diploma in Agriculture Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Governor Noem will be hosting the Next Generation of Agriculture panel on July 11. The next generation is vital to the continued success of agriculture in South Dakota. Therefore, Governor Noem is excited to welcome four up and coming agriculturalists to discuss the opportunities and challenges that they face as the next generation.

These panelists include Calli Williams, a Livestock and Farm Sales Producer for Fischer, Rounds & Associates and first-generation cow-calf producer; John Eilertson, an animal science major at South Dakota State University; Logan Wolter, an ag business major at Mitchell Technical Institute; and Taylor Mc Martin, the SD 4-H Ambassador Treasurer and senior at West Central High School.

The summit will be held July 10 and 11 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The event brings together leaders in business, finance, education, government and production agriculture to demonstrate agriculture's comparative advantages and discuss ways to harness the industry's potential for economic development.

The summit is open to anyone who is interested in the ways agriculture impacts South Dakota. Registration is required and is open through June 28. For more information and to register, go to www.sdagsummit.com. There is no cost to attend.

For those unable to attend in person, a live web stream of the event will be available at www.sdagsummit.com.

Agriculture is a major contributor to South Dakota’s economy, generating $25.6 billion in annual economic activity and employing over 115,000 South Dakotans. The South Dakota Department of Agriculture's mission is to promote, protect and preserve South Dakota agriculture for today and tomorrow. Visit us online at http://sdda.sd.gov or find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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