The state government has designated eastern South Dakota as the “I-29 Dairy Corridor.” It is advertised in England and the Netherlands as the ideal place in all the world to put large dairy farms. State officials claim these large dairy feedlots must be the future of our agriculture. Is this the future you want for South Dakota?

Should We Invest Our Tax Money Like This?

South Dakota Ag Producer Ventures (SDAPV), a private investment club has received $203,500 of tax payer money to bring large dairy farms to South Dakota.

The Department of Agriculture and Department of Economic Development partner this effort. Canton legislator Joel Dystra has been CEO of SDAPV. He recently resigned. Secretary of Agriculture Larry Gabriel is on its Board of Directors.

For $350,000, SDAPV sells start-up kits to prospective operators that does not include the price of land. Among its services according to their website, “SDAPV Dairy Development, LLC offers: Fully permitted, construction-ready dairy sites, Preliminary approval of environmental permits, Local zoning approval and building permits.” They don’t think people should be allowed to vote on whether a large feedlot moves in next door.

Why Should City Folks Care?

City folks need to be concerned. After all, it’s your water, your food, your taxes. The two new dairy feedlots in Moody County combined will put out more waste each and everyday than the entire city of Sioux Falls. However, feedlots don’t have to treat their waste the way cities do. The people downstream must take the risk.

Feedlot proponents say, they’re no risk. But what looks good on paper doesn’t always work out in real life. Liquid manure lagoons leak. They seep. They have spills. They’re only built to only withstand a 25 year water event. If rain exceeds that, they’re allowed to flush their systems down stream without penalty. Shouldn’t we be allowed to vote on whether we want such operations?

Industrial dairy farms use hormones to increase milk production. Many health organizations worry about the association of these bio-engineered hormones to prostrate cancer, colon cancer, uterine cancer and breast cancer. The European Union has banned their use.

Property Values

When a large feedlot moves in next door, property values are usually trashed. Feedlots stink. Studies show property values are decreased by 10% to 40% or more. Taking an average, if land is worth $1,000 an acre, property values within a three mile radius decrease by $4.7 million.

The Right to Vote

We should support the right of citizens to vote on whether they want a feedlot moving in next door. South Dakota in 1898, became the first state in the union to have the right to referendum. Voters have 20 days from the date a decision is published to collect signatures from 5% of the registered voters. Don’t let them take away our right to vote. Zoning boards are not infallible. Questions of Quality of Life should be put to the voters.

Feedlot proponents say if we were allowed to vote, that we’d be voting every Tuesday. But we’ve had the referendum for 106 years and it’s never been a problem before.

It's Not Good Economic Development

We are promised economic development. But when you sort through the dubious assumptions, it doesn’t add up. Taxpayers and neighbors pick up the costs. Ten 200 to 500 head dairy farms make more sense than one 2,000 or 3,600 head operation. Studies show they are more efficient. We should be saving authentic family farms. We should be helping small and medium sized farmers instead of promoting operations that strain local resources and destroy our quality of life.

It’s not right for a few to make money at the cost of ruining many other people’s lives. Studies show large feedlots are related to respiratory problems, permanent neurological damage, asthma, diarrhea, fainting spells, dizziness, headaches and nausea. Is this what you want for your children? your parents? yourself?