Special Report

Farm policy, water issues concern South Dakota Farm Bureau members

South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal

South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal

One of the top issues concerning South Dakota Farm Bureau members in Nashville is the farm bill, extended just before the year ended to be effective until the end of September. However, with the low level of the Mississippi River getting attention, there is also more focus on water releases from dams on the upper reaches of the Missouri River. Increasing the flow will bolster the Mississippi’s depth with an aim of avoiding disruption of barge traffic on the waterway. Scott VanderWal is Farm Bureau president in South Dakota, where four of those Missouri River dams are located. VanderWal acknowledges the need for shipping to be maintained on the Mississippi, but says there are two sides to the story.

“We need that water in South Dakota also for irrigation purposes, for drinking for some of the towns and cities that are along there, so it’s really a situation where you have to balance it,” VanderWal told Brownfield Ag News at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting in Nashville.

VanderWal points out that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the reservoirs and determines appropriate reservoir releases based on the Corps’ master manual.

At the same time, South Dakota faces drainage and water management issues, according South Dakota Farm Bureau Executive Director Wayne Smith.  “You would think that when we have a drought, the interest in that would subside,” Smith told Brownfield Ag News.  “It hasn’t subsided very much.”

AUDIO: Scott VanderWal (4 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Wayne Smith (2 min. MP3)

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