Agriculture industry generates billions for South Dakota
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Cattle ranchers from across the Midwest are in Rapid City to attend the 65th annual Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo. They are part of the biggest economy in South Dakota, agriculture. The beef industry alone contributes $5.8 billion to the economy.
Many ranching families have been raising cattle for generations and know the key to being successful is sustainability.
“The main thing we got to focus on is the next couple of years in this industry whether it be on the farming side or the cattle side of agriculture, we got to promote for our next generation coming along. And somehow make it feasible for them to get involved,” said Ty Krebs with Krebs Cattle Co.
With the Farm Bill being updated in 2023, Senator John Thune plans to address the challenges South Dakota livestock producers have in getting their products to kitchen tables.
Brandon Bertsche, who has been involved in cattle ranching since he was a kid, says he would like to see cattle owners have more control in their market.
Bertsche added, “Especially in the last couple of years there have been a lot of smaller packers coming on and that helps us out in our beef production. We’re getting a little more profit when it goes straight from us to the butcher to the packer, to the consumer instead of going through other alleys when we’re losing 50 to 60 percent of our income on that.”
According to the South Dakota Beef Industry Council, the Mount Rushmore state ranks seventh in the nation with four million head of cattle.
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