Category: Uncategorized

Increased Trade Opportunities Vital for South Dakota’s Farm Economy
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

In South Dakota, agriculture is our state’s top industry but over the past four years, net farm income has collapsed due to low commodity prices. Opening up new trade markets for our ag products is vital as we continue working to improve the economy in South Dakota and the United States.

Net farm income in our country is projected to decrease $4.3 billion from last year to $59.5 billion in 2018, the lowest net farm income level since 2006. This marks the fourth straight year of decline, and is mainly the result of weak prices for crop and livestock products. Opening up new markets for American exports will greatly contribute to the overall health of the farm economy, since foreign markets absorb around one-fifth of all U.S. agriculture production today.

I recently joined a group of senators in a letter to President Trump to let him know we agree with comments he made at a meeting of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, indicating that he is open to re-engaging in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations. Increased economic engagement with the eleven countries currently in the TPP has the potential to substantially improve the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, including farms and ranches. It would also support millions of U.S. jobs, boost U.S. exports, increase wages and benefit consumers. Increasing access to a region and market that has a population of nearly 500 million—and is continuing to grow—is a smart move for our country. Additionally, U.S. participation in TPP could counter the influence of China in the Pacific Rim region.

Japan, a member of TPP, is the number one market for U.S. beef exports. In 2016, the U.S. exported 203,000 metric tons of beef to Japan, valued at $1.3 billion. Currently, U.S. fresh, chilled and frozen beef enters the Japanese market at a 38.5 percent tariff rate. In the summer of 2017, Japan slapped a 50 percent tariff on frozen U.S. beef shipments. This tariff will continue through March 2018. Under TPP, this rate would have declined to 27.5 percent in year one, and ultimately would have declined to 9 percent over a 16-year phase in period. Australia is a top competitor to U.S. beef in Asia. In January 2015, the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement took effect, which set Australia’s frozen beef tariff at 30.5 percent and fresh beef tariff at 32.5 percent, and will continue to be phased-down over the next 15-18 years.

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), TPP would provide significant benefits for U.S. agriculture and would increase U.S. ag exports by $7.2 billion by 2032. Gains in farm and food exports would stem primarily from greater market access for U.S. products due to lower tariffs and expanded tariff-rate quotas. Additionally, according to an analysis by the American Farm Bureau, under TPP, U.S. net farm income is projected to be $4.4 billion higher than without it. South Dakota exported nearly $1 billion in products to TPP countries in 2015, including $37 million in goods exported to Japan, $4 million in goods to Vietnam and $3 million in goods to Malaysia.

The president recently announced plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. While this may sound like good news for those industries, it is important to consider the negative impacts the policy change could have on goods produced in the United States that use these materials in production, such as farm machinery. Also, we must recognize potential repercussions from other countries, should they retaliate by restricting U.S. produced products being imported to their countries. If other countries do retaliate, it may impact our sales of corn, wheat, soybeans, livestock and other commodities to these countries. We will continue to monitor this development.

Free and fair trade has a proven record of keeping our economy healthy and vibrant. The president has been meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss trade and recently reiterated his commitment to free, fair and reciprocal trade, and remains open to potential future bilateral trade agreements, including in the Indo-Pacific region. I will continue working with the administration and my colleagues in the Senate to improve trade deals around the world.

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One Nation, Under God
By Rep. Kristi Noem

The U.S. Capitol is typically a busy place. But on a Wednesday morning in February, the halls went quiet as Reverend Billy Graham was laid in honor under the Capitol Dome. He is just the fourth private citizen in history to receive that rite, and I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent South Dakota at the ceremony.  Rev. Graham’s spiritual influence has helped shape the way I view the role of faith in government, so to be present as our country came together to honor his contributions is an opportunity I will long treasure.

Rev. Graham was known as America’s Pastor for good reason. He shared the hope we find in Christ with 13 presidents, millions of service members, and countless others across the globe. He brought people from every background together as One Nation, Under God.

President Reagan once said, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” How true that statement is!

I believe that faith, family and freedom are essential to America’s long-term prosperity, and I have consistently worked to restore these principles in public life. We’re starting to make some meaningful progress.

Early in President Trump’s term, Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed, adding another conservative, pro-life member to the Supreme Court bench.

Later that year after a series of natural disasters, churches stepped up to provide housing for the homeless. They served as meeting points for families. And they offered a central location from which volunteers could organize. Many were damaged by the disasters too, but “Houses of Worship” were prohibited from receiving certain support from FEMA. As a result, there was little help when it came time to rebuild.  We worked with the Trump administration to lift those restrictions, helping ensure churches could continue their community-driven missions.

More recently, President Trump announced a plan to better protect medical workers who object to performing abortions and other services that go against their moral values. This is a policy I’ve long supported as the cosponsor of the Conscience Protection Act. Simply put, no person should ever have to go to work and be forced to deny their deepest religious convictions.

These positions, as well as my work to defund Planned Parenthood, recently earned me a 100 percent rating from the Family Research Council, a conservative religious liberty policy center. Even so, I recognize more must be done to secure religious liberty in our country.

Rev. Graham once said that “being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion. It is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.” The same is true for our nation. Even our Constitution acknowledges this fact in it’s opening line: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…”

May Rev. Graham’s legacy continue to inspire our journey toward a more perfect union. May the message of Christ’s love that he shared guide our leaders and unite us all as One Nation, Under God.

South Dakota’s Economic Development Wins
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

There are many things happening in our state that lead me to be hopeful about South Dakota’s future, especially in the realm of economic development. Overall, 2017 was a great year in terms of economic development wins. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development helped facilitate deals that total over $735 million in investment and are expected to create more than 1,400 new jobs.

Last July, we broke ground on the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility at the Sanford Underground Research Facility – the old Homestake mine. This Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will fire a beam of neutrinos from Fermilab near Chicago to huge detectors at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead. The experiment hopes to unravel one of the great mysteries of the universe: the oscillation of neutrinos.  This experiment will require a $400 million construction investment in Lead that will have an economic impact of nearly $1 billion.

We also broke ground on a major new soybean processing facility in Aberdeen.  When complete, AGP’s soybean plant will be the largest investment in their history, with capacity enough to process 20% of South Dakota’s entire soybean crop.

In Sioux Falls, we supported Gage Brothers, a 100-year old South Dakota manufacturer, as it launched a new $40 million facility. We supported BalCon Enterprises’ plans to construct a new 22,500 square foot processing and warehouse facility in Elk Point, a project that will add 22 full-time jobs. In Beresford, we secured a commitment from Hendrix Genetics to build a $25 million commercial turkey hatchery, creating 79 new jobs.  The facility will hatch over half a million baby turkeys every week.

There were many other business expansions in 2017, including OtterTail Power in northeast South Dakota, Red’s All Natural Foods in North Sioux City, B9 Creations in Rapid City, Applied Engineering in Yankton, Performance Pet Products in Mitchell, Great Plains Processing in Yankton, Aero Trailers in Watertown and Harvard Integrations in Tea.

This year, 2018 began with a major announcement from AgroPur of a $250 million expansion in Lake Norden.  When complete, this expansion will increase the plant’s daily milk processing capacity from 3 million pounds to more than 9 million pounds, equal to the output of an additional 85,000 cows.

We are seeing success because South Dakota allows businesses to prosper. We have a low tax burden – no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, no business inventory tax, no personal property tax or inheritance tax. We also have low costs and reasonable regulations.

It is also thanks to the hard work of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and our economic development partners throughout the state. They do the work of identifying prospects from around the country and selling our state and our communities.  More often, they work with local businesses, already in our state, to help them expand.  By keeping South Dakota a business-friendly state, I’m confident 2018 will be even better than last year.

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Drinking Liberally Sioux Falls had some insight on the South Dakota Democrat Party’s outlook for the 2018 elections in terms of how they intend to bring Democrats home to vote. Hint: They’re not:

Democrats continue to lose the Voter Registration battle to Republicans. According to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website, Democrats lost another 449 registered voters in February while Republican registration increased by 325 voters. In all the Republican advantage over Democrats increased by 774 voters in February. Overall, it now stands at 87,112 voters or, to put it another way, by an average of 2889 voters in each of South Dakota’s 35 Legislative Districts. That is a big deficit for a Candidate to overcome and a big hole the SDDP needs to climb out of.

A year ago the South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) announced a big voter registration drive. It even got a $10,000.00 grant from the DNC to conduct registration drives on Indian Reservations. The SDDP doesn’t have much to show for its effort. Since last April Democratic voter registration statewide has dropped by 11,360 voters, from 169,688 to 158,328 or 6.7%. I encourage the SDDP to rethink what they are doing. I don’t know what it is but it obviously is not working.

I need a drink.

Read it here.

So, for every dollar their received from the Democrat National Committee for voter registration, they lost 1.136 voters?

Ann Tornberg – you just keep on keeping on. And while you’re working on voter registration, keep teaching Democrats how to win elections.

Noem in Watertown Saturday

Watertown, S.D. – Kristi Noem will attend the Watertown Home Show on Saturday, March 3.

WHAT: Noem to Attend Watertown Home Show
WHEN: Saturday, March 3 – 12:00PM-3:00PM (CT)
WHERE: Codington County Extension Center (1910 West Kemp Avenue, Watertown)

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Sisseton’s Gordon Nielsen Endorses Jackley for Governor

SISSETON, SD: Roberts County attorney Gordon Nielsen announced in an ad released Friday that he is supporting Attorney General Marty Jackley’s bid for governor.

“Marty is South Dakota through and through, and I know he’ll make us proud as our new governor,” Nielsen said. “Marty balances his attorney general’s office budget every year, has the record of an accomplished statewide leader, and has built trusting relationships with law enforcement, business owners, and civic leaders from every corner of South Dakota. That is the background of someone who is prepared to lead as governor.”

Nielsen has practiced law in Roberts County for 20 years and received his degree from the University of South Dakota. He resides in Sisseton with his wife Kari and their children Nate, Blake, Emmalee and Luke.

“Our team is focused on building a bright future for communities like Sisseton, and the encouragement from hometown leaders like Gordon Nielsen is helping us shape that vision every day,” Jackley said. “We’re incredibly grateful for Gordon’s endorsement, and for all the support we’ve seen in Roberts County. Thank you for standing with us.”

The endorsement caps off a busy week for Jackley, who announced two new lawsuits aimed at challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare and supporting President Trump’s travel restrictions on high-risk countries.

“Marty’s commitment to South Dakota runs deeper than his words,” Nielsen said. “His actions speak for themselves, which is why I’m asking the people of Sisseton to support him.”

Nielsen’s endorsement video can be watched here:

Open Primary Elections Ballot Question Petition Rejected by Secretary of State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 2, 2018

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Secretary of State Shantel Krebs announced that the petition submitted for an initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution establishing open primary elections was rejected by her office.

“My staff have been working diligently to review petitions,” stated Secretary Krebs. “An Initiated Constitutional Amendment requires 27,741 valid signatures in order to be placed on the ballot. This initiated constitutional amendment petition included 37,197 signatures. We reviewed a random sample of signatures, and only 68.57 percent (37,197 x 68.57% = 25,505 valid signatures, not meeting the 27,741 signatures required) were found to be valid.”

A rejected petition cannot be challenged to the office of the Secretary of State, however that does not prohibit a citizen from challenging the rejection of a ballot question petition in circuit court.

The remaining four petitions will be reviewed by the Secretary of State’s office in the order in which they were received. The South Dakota Legislature also has the ability to include constitutional amendments on the 2018 ballot and South Dakota citizens have the ability to submit a referendum petition concerning laws passed during the 2018 Legislative session.

For more detailed information on potential 2018 Ballot Questions, click here.

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2-1-17.1.   Submission of affidavit challenging petition to secretary of state–Appeal. Within thirty days after a statewide petition for an initiated constitutional amendment, initiated measure, or referendum has been validated and filed, any interested person who has researched the signatures contained on the petition may submit an affidavit to the Office of Secretary of State to challenge the petition. The affidavit shall include an itemized listing of each specific deficiency in question. Any challenge to the following items is prohibited under this challenge process:

(1)      Signer does not live at address listed on the petition;

(2)      Circulator does not live at address listed on the petition;

(3)      Circulator listed a residence address in South Dakota but is not a South Dakota resident;

(4)      Circulator did not witness the signers;

(5)      Signatures not included in the random sample; and

(6)      Petition that was originally rejected.

Any challenge by the same person or party in interest shall be included in one affidavit.

The original signed affidavit shall be received by the Office of Secretary of State by 5:00 p.m. central time on the deadline date. If the affidavit challenges any item that is prohibited by this section, only that line item shall summarily be rejected. A challenge to a line item is not a challenge to the petition as a whole.

The secretary of state’s decision regarding a challenge may not be challenged a second time with the secretary of state, but may be appealed to the circuit court of Hughes County. If a person fails to challenge a petition pursuant to this section, it does not deny that person any other legal remedy to challenge the filing of an initiative or referendum petition in circuit court. A challenge to a petition in circuit court may include items prohibited in this section.

Thune, Klobuchar Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Agriculture Data Research of Conservation Practices

“This legislation would help farmers and land-grant universities better utilize USDA’s massive collection of conservation data and enable them to choose the best conservation practices that would improve productivity on farming operations.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, this week joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), also a member of the Agriculture Committee, in introducing bipartisan legislation to improve agriculture data research of conservation practices to help farmers reduce risk and increase profitability. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently manages and stores valuable producer data, but the data can be better utilized to inform producers’ understanding about which conservation practices reduce risk and improve profitability. Individual producer data would be kept confidential and secure, and, under the provisions of this legislation, it would never be publicly divulged.

“One of the greatest challenges with applying the most effective conservation practices, like cover crops on working lands, is measuring the economic value these practices can provide, such as increased crop yields on subsequent crops,”said Thune. “This legislation would help farmers and land-grant universities better utilize USDA’s massive collection of conservation data and enable them to choose the best conservation practices that would improve productivity on farming operations.”

“Farmers sustain an important pillar of our nation’s economy, and do so under unpredictable market and weather conditions year-to-year,” said Klobuchar. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure hardworking farmers are able to capitalize on the United States Department of Agriculture’s vast resources to streamline their operations, enhance yields, and increase profits.”

“Conservation is a key element of South Dakota’s production agriculture landscape, and there’s an urgent need to learn more about the value of conservation practices in enhancing crop production, improving soil health, and reducing risk,”said Lisa Richardson, executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association. “The Agriculture Data Act of 2018 could provide land-grant universities, such as South Dakota State University, better access to USDA-compiled conservation data, resulting in more accurate recommendations for conservation practices and precision agriculture tools that are most beneficial for crop production and soil health.”

The Agriculture Data Act would direct the secretary of agriculture to collect, collate, integrate, and link data relating to the impacts of covered conservation practices on enhancing crop yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing risk and improving farm and ranch profitability. It would also give the secretary of agriculture the authority to establish a secure, confidential cloud-based conservation and farm productivity data warehouse to store operational, transactional, and administrative program databases and records that support business, statistical, and other analysis.

The Agriculture Data Act could create savings through accurate economic assessments of conservation practices, which may result in lower crop insurance premiums due to improved yields and reduced indemnities on land where covered conservation practices were applied.

To learn more about Thune’s 2018 farm bill, please visit the farm bill section on www.thune.senate.gov.

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Apparently dark horse Republican candidate for Governor Terry Lee LaFleur h as a campaign video out there, and in terms of quality, it’s surprisingly well done (if you’re comparing it to the video offerings of the other dark horse candidate, Lora Hubbel).

Now, the content is still a bit paranoid whack-a-doodle, and needed heavy editing and a cohesive message, but again, it’s at least a professional looking product.

According to YouTube, the video has actually been out there since November, which begs the question – Why are we just seeing it now? It’s probably the best presentation of this candidate to date. You would have expected it to be facebooked and tweeted constantly. But it hasn’t been.

And now, we’re at about 3 months out until the election, with questions out there whether LaFleur will even make the ballot. That might be very telling in the kind of campaign that LaFleur has run to date. There…really hasn’t been much of one.

More than anything, the video represents a missed opportunity that could have caught some of the attention he’s been seeking. As well as volunteers who could help him get on the ballot.