Ag secretary, lawmakers seek next crop of farmers

By: 
Dana Hess, Community News Service
PIERRE — Passing South Dakota’s farms on to a new generation won’t be easy. That was evident the morning of Jan. 23 as S.D. Agriculture Secretary Kim Vanneman discussed her goals with the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. 
Vanneman told the committee that one of her goals as secretary was to plan for the next generation of farmers. Working toward that goal would include a series of meetings with young people to tell them about careers in agriculture, Vanneman said. 
Rep. Bob Glanzer, R-Huron, told the secretary that bankers are concerned about the future of farms in his area where some farmers have no future generation waiting to take over. 
“This seems like a big, big obstacle to me,” said Glanzer, a former ag loan officer. “Where do you see that next generation coming from?”
Facilitating the transfer of assets from the farm owner to a buyer is not within in the scope of the Agriculture Department’s duties, Vanneman said. 
“It does need to happen,” Vanneman said. “We’re seeing fewer and fewer young people coming back to the farm.”
Rep. James Wangsness, R-Miller, asked if the department has considered a mentor program to match retiring farmers with the next generation. Wangsness said that while he was attending South Dakota State University, many of his classmates would have liked to go back to their family farms, but often those operations were too small.
Vanneman said there have been discussions within the department about a mentor program, but she wondered how involved farmers would want the department to get in a transfer of property. 
They might not like “us being in the middle,” Vanneman said. “It’s part of what we’re talking about.”
The state of farming in South Dakota was noted in a slide Vanneman presented during her annual overview of the department for the agriculture committee. Before lenders foreclose on a farm, they must file for mediation with the agriculture department. Since 2015, there has been a steady increase in mediation requests. 
“This is an indicator of where we are,” Vanneman said. 
 

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