January 30, 2018 • Page 8 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Promoting Ag Sustainability In High School Classrooms AUCTIONS fcsamerica.com THERE’S A REASON REAL ESTATE BUYERS LAND WITH US. When you ?nance farmland with us, you aren’t just another customer – you are a customer-owner. So along with our attractive rates and exceptional terms, you get a voice in how we work and a share of what we earn in the form of cash-back dividends. Call us to learn more. YANKTON OFFICE: 605-665-9675 OR 800-658-3631 BROOKINGS, S.D. - Sustainable agriculture was the focus of a training session, co-hosted by SDSU Extension and University of Nebraska-Lincoln for South Dakota high school vocational agriculture educators January 5, 2018 on the campus of South Dakota State University. "We need to educate today's youth about sustainable agriculture," explained Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension Soils Field Specialist, who coordinated the event with David Karki, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist and educators from the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL). The training was part of a pilot program designed to test new curriculum. Current teachers as well as SDSU student pursuing degrees in Agriculture Edu- cation attended the training. The following school districts were represented: Chester, Bowdle, Yankton, Bon Homme, Tri-Valley, Howard, Mitchell and Wolsey-Wessington. During the four-hour training, the participants learned about soil aggregate stability and how to incorporate agriculture sustainability lessons into curriculum. The Ag Sustainability curriculum promoted during the training, was developed by UNL and targeted for high school teachers in the northcentral states, including South Dakota. "This curriculum will be provided to all teachers who participated in this training," explained Karki. Lessons in Sustainable Agriculture The curriculum is composed of six lessons designed to gradually improve the understanding of a sustainable production system. "The syllabus was designed to be equally friendly to students who have farm background and those who don't," Bly said. understand the concept of being sustainable," Bly said. He added that special attention was given to environmental and natural resource conservation. Once the educators have implemented the curriculum, they are asked to provide feedback that will The six lessons that were be used in further developcovered during the training ment of the sustainability session included: curriculum. 1. What is a system? "The hope is to make 2. City Farm Game the final draft of this 3. Connections to the Field curriculum available to Print Calculator agriculture educators eve4. Sustainable Ag. Case rywhere," Karki said. Studies This training and cur5. Engineering- Center riculum was funded by the Pivot Irrigation Environmental Protection 6. Digging In- Exploring our Agency (EPA) as a part of Soils its Local Grants program. "These lessons incorporate many in-class demonstrations, videos, and on-line farming game that could easily help students Working Toward A Farm Bill That’s Done Right And On Time BON HOMME COUNTY LAND FOR SALE 154.98 Acres, more or less Legal: The Northwest Quarter (NW¼) of Section Twenty-six (26), Township Ninety-four (94) North, Range Fifty-eight (58), West of the 5th P .M., Bon Homme County, South Dakota. The property is located approximately 1 mile south and ½ mile west of Tabor, South Dakota. A beautiful, remodeled 1,510 sq. ft. home, barn, storage units, and garages are all included with this property. The homestead consists of approximately 6.5 acres which surround the house and outbuildings. There are approximately 141 acres of excellent farmland and the balance is roads and shelter belts, with accessibility from both the north and west via county gravel roads. Interested parties shall prepare sealed bids containing contact information. Bids shall be sent to: Scott R. Swier, Swier Law Firm, Prof. LLC, P Box 256, Avon, South Dakota .O. 57315. Bids must be postmarked or hand-delivered by 4:00 p.m. NO LATER THAN Friday, February 16, 2018. The four highest bidders will then be invited to a private auction, to be held Friday, February 23, 2018, at Swier Law Firm at which time bids may be raised. TERMS: CASH: All bidders must accompany their bid with a check for ten percent (10%) of the bid amount made payable to the Swier Law Firm, Prof. LLC Trust Account and said sum will be applied to the total purchase price if bidder is the successful purchaser. Bidder must specifically represent the aforesaid payment shall apply to any and all subsequent bids for the above-described property. The successful bidder shall pay the balance of the purchase price on or before March 23, 2018, and will receive landlord’s possession on March 23, 2018, for the 2018 crop year. A warranty deed will convey title to the new owner and an owner’s title insurance policy will be provided, with such cost being split between Buyer and Seller. 2017 real estate taxes will be paid by Seller. It is the responsibility of Buyer to inspect the property and public records prior to submitting bids. Property is sold subject to land previously deeded for roads and highways and existing easements, restrictions and reservations of record, if any, and subject to current renter’s oral lease for the year 2018. Lillian Cap, Owner 30734 426th Ave., Tabor, South Dakota To view the home, please contact Alice Rehurek - 605 661-4473 Owner reserves the right to reject any and all bids. For additional information, please contact: Scott R. Swier, Swier Law Firm, Prof. LLC – Attorney for Owner P.O. Box 256, Avon, South Dakota 57315 Telephone 605 286-3218 REAL ESTATE RENTALS AUTOMOTIVE By Sen. John Thune For folks who haven’t been following my “Thune Farm Bill” effort in the Senate, thanks to the help of stakeholder groups and individual farmers and ranchers throughout South Dakota, we made significant progress last year as we laid important groundwork for the 2018 farm bill. The current farm bill expires this fall, and one of my top priorities for 2018 is ensuring the next farm bill is done right and on time. Last March, I announced that I’d be introducing multiple individual farm bill proposals that cover most sections of the overall bill. My goal was simple. I wanted to put pen to paper early on in the process – beginning more than one year ahead of the deadline – so we could start having a discussion about items that could be included in the new bill. By starting this conversation early, we would be able to get ahead of the game, and I’m glad we did. The first proposal I introduced last year would create the Soil Health and Income Protection Program, or SHIPP for short. It’s designed to be a new voluntary income protection program for farmers that would help meet the production and soil health needs in today’s agriculture economy. The Congratulations EMPLOYMENT MERCHANDISE COUPONS the Missouri Valley Shopper and missourivalleyshopper.com is your complete source for buying and selling. Everything you need is just a click or call away! Place an ad today by calling 605.665.5584 Essence Salon Ribbon Cutting The Yankton Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors hosted a Ribbon Cutting for Essence Salon at their location, 1101 Broadway Avenue, Suite 103C. Opened in September of 2013, owner Kayla Kolda has relocated Essence Salone into Morgen Square. Services include: hair cutting, hair coloring, pedicures, manicures, tinting, facials, microdermabrasion, waxing, spray tanning and eyelash extensions. Appointments can be booked by calling 605-661-6714 or booking online at www.styleseat.com/kaylakolda2. MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y Congratulations Wells Fargo Bank The Yankton Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors hosted a ribbon cutting for Wells Fargo Bank at their location, 3100 Broadway Avenue Suite 100. Melissa Pavlish is the branch manager. Bank hours are Monday - Thursday: 8am-5pm, Friday: 8am – 6pm and Saturday: 9am-12pm. Wells Fargo was founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco. They provide banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,400 locations (including more than 40 in South Dakota). Wells Fargo was ranked number 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. You can contact Wells Fargo at 605-857-8270. new program, which offers a short-term alternative to the popular Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and its long-term requirements, is widely supported. Scott VanderWal, the president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau, called it “commonsense” and said it had the potential be a “helpful tool” for South Dakota farmers. Shortly after I rolled out SHIPP, I introduced a set of proposals that would greatly improve how easement programs are managed by adding flexibility to CRP and creating new options for other easement programs. My legislation would boost the CRP acreage cap to 30 million acres, which represents a 25 percent increase, and it would create a new target acreage enrollment for each state based on historical enrollment. South Dakota is expected to lose nearly 60 percent of its existing CRP acres during the years covered by the 2018 farm bill, so it was clear to me that some changes needed to be made. From there, I introduced numerous other proposals that would, among other things, simplify the Agriculture Risk CoverageCounty payment process for multi-county farms, require a mandatory crop acreage base update, improve eligibility for disaster-related diseases under the Livestock Indemnity Program, accelerate the availability of Livestock Forage Program assistance for counties in the D2 Drought Monitor category, increase the effectiveness of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, and improve the National Environmental Policy Act. We closed out 2017 with a proposal to expand the sodsaver initiative, which I first authored in the 2008 and 2014 farm bills, for nationwide implementation. In 2018, we picked up right where we left off. This month, I introduced a bill that would help individual Native American ranchers by providing them with premium assistance for grazing loss crop insurance and disaster assistance eligibility for horses that are owned for personal use when natural disasters strike. Taken as a whole, these bills represent some of the most extensive farm bill policy recommendations that have been introduced this Congress. Again, and I can’t emphasize it enough, we wouldn’t be here without the hard work and dedication of the men and women in South Dakota’s agriculture industry who provided their advice and suggestions along the way. As we approach this fall’s deadline, they’re needed now more than ever.