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BON HOMME YANKTON ELECTRIC SEPTEMBER 2021 VOL. 22 NO. 5

ERATIVE CONNECTIONS

CONNECTIONS

Old Spink New Spink SD restaurants roll with the changes Page 8 Dealing with drought Page 12 Joyce Schermer, Karisma Tripp and Brad and Lori Johannsen are shown at Spink Family Restaurant in Elk Point

MANAGER’S COLUMN

Communication in the Digital World Requires Cyber Security.

Stephanie Horst horst@byelectric.com

Grandma Vivian would be the first to tell you that the art of writing letters and sending them in the mail has been lost. During one of my recent visits with her, she was her going through her greeting card collection. Her stash would put any Hallmark store to shame, as she is equipped for any occasion. She looked at me and said, you need to go through these and take what you want. As I pulled out several, she then bolstered, “There is a condition…. you have to send them this year with a note inside.” Oh, the pressure of those words! I don’t remember the last time I sent a handwritten letter in the mail, and then under her breath I heard her say, “It means a lot and is very important to people my age to get these in the mail.” As that statement held heavy, my mind began to wander on how communicating that way has all but stalled with social media, texting, and email.

There is an unfathomable amount of information being exchanged every second online, and as seen recently in the news, scammers want this information for personal gain. I think it is safe to say that almost everyone we know has an email address. Many of us can type faster than we can write, and what used to take days is now conveyed in seconds with the world wide web, changing the ways we communicate and perform commerce forever. While these forms of communication greatly expedite all our day-to-day activities, it also comes with a whole new set of

2 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2021

challenges. There is an unfathomable amount of information being exchanged every second online, and as seen recently in the news, scammers want this information for personal gain. For B-Y Electric, this is where the Information Technology team at East River Electric comes in. Their dedicated team of I.T. experts have our back when defending against online threats. And at the head of this team is Jeff May, East River’s Chief Information Officer. We recently spoke with Jeff for more information on who is conducting these attacks, what they are looking for, and how to prevent such invasions of privacy. B-Y: Who is behind these attacks and why are

they doing it?

J.M.: From what we’ve learned so far, the

culprits behind the Colonial Pipeline attack are an organization that goes by the name Darkside. They offer Ransomware as a service that cybercriminals can use against companies. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s computer files and blocks them from being accessed. The purpose of these attacks is to extort money, if victims want access to their files, they pay a ransom.

B-Y: How do these things happen? Is it like what we see on TV? J.M.: Most of the time Ransomware is spread through phishing emails. These emails are designed to trick users into opening an infected attachment or link. Once opened typically the Ransomware will begin working in the background, sometimes it might wait several weeks or months before it begins encrypting files. Some movies and TV shows are more realistic than others, but in the end they all end with the computer system being rendered useless. Continued on page 7 For more information, call our office at (605) 463-2507 or email horst@byelectric.com

BOARD REPORT

ERATIVE

CONNECTIONS

BON HOMME YANKTON ELECTRIC (USPS No. 018-973) Bon Homme Yankton Electric Association, Inc PO 158 134 S. Lidice St. Tabor, SD 57063 Office Hours: Monday through Friday 7:30am - 4:30pm To pay by phone, call: 1-888-395-5315 To report an outage, call: Local call from Tabor, Tyndall, and Yankton: 605-463-2507 Toll Free in South Dakota 1-800-925-2929 NOTICE: Electric bills must be paid by 10:00am on the 20th of each month to avoid a $10 late fee. Board President: Paul Voigt Board of Directors Dave Sykora - Vice President Dave Sternhagen - Secretary Robert Ruppelt - Treasurer Dean Sternhagen John Lillevold Rick Cheloha General Manager: Stephanie Horst Operations Manager: Ken Carda Office Manager: Nicole Einrem Marketing/Communications Coordinator & Editor: Jaclyn Arens Bon Homme Yankton Electric Cooperative Connections is the monthly publication for the members of Bon Homme Yankton Electric Association, Inc, PO Box 158, 134 S. Lidice St., Tabor, SD 57063-0158. Families subscribe to Cooperative Connections as part of their electric cooperative membership. The purpose of Bon Homme Yankton Electric

JULY BOARD REPORT

The July board meeting was held on July 21, at 8am. All board members were present. Others present were Attorney Sheila Woodward, General Manager Stephanie Horst, Office Manager Nicole Einrem, Operations Manager Ken Carda, and Communications/Marketing Coordinator Jaclyn Arens. THE BOARD REVIEWED CONSENT AGENDA: • Minutes of the Previous Meeting • New Members & Cancellations • Capital Credits to Estates Discounted $4,050.56 • Closed Work Order Inventory $63,912.36 • Review Special Equipment purchases $13,199.98

THE BOARD REVIEWED AND APPROVED:

• • •

• Communication/Marketing Report • Annual Meeting Logistics Report • Operations & Safety Report

• •

kWh

30 25 20 15

from their monthly electric payments for a subscription. Non-member subscriptions are available for $12 annually. Periodicals postage paid at Tabor, SD 57063.

July 2021 Solar Stats

information to electric cooperative members on electric information: Cooperative members devote 50 cents

10 5 0

Consumer Directly

Postmaster: Please send address changes to Bon Homme Yankton Electric Cooperative Connections, PO Box 158, Tabor, SD 57063; telephone (605) 463-2507; fax (605) 463-2419

ERP Table Top Exercise Certiﬁcation Oﬃce & Financial Reports General Manager Report East River Cyber Security/IT Report SDREA Report East River Board Report Legal Report NRECA SD Director Election Notice & Voting Delegate NRECA Voting Delegate/Alternate CoBank Mail-In Voting Delegate Basin District 1 Director Nominee Voting Delegate Executive Session - Enter & Exit Next Meeting set for Aug.18, at 8am

Year-to-Date Comparison June-20 June-21 Total Revenue ...................................$939,701................................................ $1,109,467 Cost of Power....................................$523,903................................................... $655,044 Total Cost of Service ........................$828,124................................................... $952,532 KWH’s Purchased ............................8,196,998.................................................. 9,754,208 Residential Average kWh ....................... 1473.......................................................... 1,440 Residential Average Bill .......................... $181........................................................... $178

Cooperative Connections is to provide reliable, helpful cooperative matters and better rural living. Subscription

• • • • • • • •

Welcome New Members Avon

Thomas & Emily Sternhagen

Irene James Strachan Scott & Susan Storgaard

Springﬁeld Four Winds Enterprises, LLC

Tabor Alexander Veik & Krista Olson

Energy to Grid

Tyndall

Robert & Kathryn Hinrichs

David Rueb

Howard Kathol

Utica

Steven & Ellen Sylliaasen

David Becker & Tessa Myers

JMN Properties LLC

Yankton

Michael Lokken

Wesley Bowman

Justin Iiams

Jeﬀ Dreesen

Petra Alonso & Octavio Bravo

Debra Ziemke & Brian Hunter

Doyle & Carolyn Becker

Christopher Hughes

Lakeside Vacation Homes

Daria Miller

Lacey Juttelstad

Steven Krause

Kevin Klein

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 3

OVERHEAD POWERLINES

Be aware of overhead power lines on farms Powerlines pose a major hazard for South Dakota farmers. Lines over roads and rural areas have a minimum clearance of 18 feet but just 12.5 feet over residential private property. Before working in a field or around shops or grain bins, always take the time to note the location of your cooperative’s power lines so that you can make sure to remain a safe distance from them and stay free from harm. To stay safe around overhead power lines, farm operators and workers must: • Always use a spotter when operating large machinery near utility power lines. • Use extra caution when raising augers or grain truck beds around co-op power lines. • Keep equipment at least 10 feet from power lines - at all times, and in all directions. • Inspect the height of farm equipment to determine the proper clearance. • Always lower extensions to the lowest setting when moving loads. • Never attempt to move a power line out of the way or raise it to get added clearance. • Call your electric cooperative immediately if a power line is sagging or is

hanging too low. • If contact is made with a power line, remember that it is almost always safest to stay on the equipment. Make sure to warn others to stay away and call the cooperative immediately. • The only reason to decide to make an exit is if the equipment is on fire. If this is the case, then remember to jump off the equipment with both of your feet together, avoiding touching the ground and vehicle at the same time. Then, still keeping your feet together, “bunny hop” away from the vehicle until you reach a safe distance. If you see someone else’s equipment that has come in contact with a power line in your area, the best help you can give will be from a safe distance. Make sure to yell out to, signal or call the equipment operator to make sure he or she remains in the vehicle, and notify your local cooperative immediately. Please remember to follow these tips to avoid accidents during the harvest season.

4 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2021

TIPS FOR A SAFE HARVEST

The Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center offers this useful checklist for farm safety called Stop-Think-Act. Take these steps to minimize injury risks during harvest season. Stop • What could go wrong? • How bad could it be? • Has anything changed? Think • Do I clearly understand the task? • Am I physically and mentally ready?

• Do I have the right equipment and tools for the job? Act • Make it safe. • Use the right tools. • Follow proper procedures. • Reduce risks. • Stop the task if it cannot be done safely.

You put the ‘pow’ in power! Madilyn Gaikowski Madilyn sends out a special note of appreciation for line workers across the state of South Dakota. She is the daughter of Gene and Loree Gaikowski. Gene serves as the Wessington Springs line foreman at Central Electric in Mitchell. Kids, send your drawing with an electrical safety tip to your local electric cooperative (address found on Page 3). If your poster is published, you’ll receive a prize. All entries must include your name, age, mailing address and the names of your parents. Colored drawings are encouraged.

RECIPES

CROCKPOT CRAVINGS CROCKPOT BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH APPLES

CROCKPOT APPLE BUTTER Ingredients: 4 cups of sugar (more or less depending on sweetness of apples) 4 tsp. cinnamon ¼ tsp. cloves ¼ tsp. salt

METHOD Fill a 5 quart crockpot full of chopped apples (quartered or smaller), no need to peel, but do remove seeds. Tart apples are best. Top with the ingredients above. Lid won’t fit at first but settles down as apples cook. Begin cooking on high and when bubbling, put heat on low and cook all night, or until thick and dark color. Stir occasionally. If need be, blend a few seconds to soften peels. Pour into jars and seal. Cherie Leibel, Timber Lake

SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW Ingredients: 3 cups water 1 package McCormick® Classic Beef Stew Seasoning Mix Packet 2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 cup flour 2 cups potato chunks 1 1/4 cups carrot chunks 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges 1/2 cup sliced celery

METHOD Mix vegetables, water and Beef Stew Seasoning Mix in slow cooker. Coat beef with flour. Stir into ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook 8 hours on low or 5 hours on high until beef is tender. mccormick.com

Ingredients: 1 ½ to 2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled and chopped (about 5 cups) 2 to 3 tart apples, chopped (about 2 cups) ¼ c. dried cherries or cranberries 1 ½ tsp. grated fresh ginger ½ tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper ½ tsp. cinnamon ¼ tsp. nutmeg ½ c. apple cider ¼ tsp. salt

METHOD Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker and stir together. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours or until squash is tender, then turn to warm until serving. Can also be baked in conventional oven at 325 degrees until fork tender. Sweet potatoes can be used instead of butternut squash if desired. Linda Sherry, Sioux Falls Please send your favorite dairy recipes to your local electric cooperative (address found on Page 3). Each recipe printed will be entered into a drawing for a prize in December 2021. All entries must include your name, mailing address, phone number and cooperative name.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 5

CO-OP NEWS

Local Discounts with your Co-op Connections Cards

Your cooperative membership earns you discounts at local participating businesses. Simply show your Co-op Connections Discount Card and save. • Linda’s Angel Crossing in Yankton 20% oﬀ 1 Regular Priced Item.

Supporting Our Local Schools Electric cooperatives in South Dakota do not pay property tax on their electric utility systems such as poles, wires, and transformers. Instead, electric cooperatives pay a kilowatt hour tax. This tax is based on the kilowatt hours that are sold to their members during the previous year. School districts in our service area have received $295,864 in gross kWh tax as a result of electric sales to members of Bon Homme Yankton Electric in 2020. The table breaks down the gross kWh taxes paid by Bon Homme Yankton Electric, East River Electric on our purchases of electricity and Basin Electric’s tax based on kWh sales to East River on behalf of our members.

• Royal Sport Shop in Yankton 10% discount on in-store purchases. Some exclusions apply.

Taxes From Providers

• Head2Heels in Yankton 10% oﬀ any regular-priced item.

Basin Electric Power Co-op

• Mead Cultural Education Center in Yankton $3.00 Off Admission • Olson’s Pest Technicians in Yankton 20% off for new customers. • Elwood Family Dental Care in Yankton Free whitening strips at recare (cleaning) appointments. • Haase’s Main Stop in Scotland $2 Cheese sticks with specialty pizza order and/or Free 32oz fountain drink with a $5 deli purchase • Loving Hands Gifts in Tabor Pay CASH and receive 10% off purchases of $100 or more.

For a full list of ways to save, visit www. connections.coop. To request a card or become a participating business, call (605) 463-2507 or email jarens@ byelectric.com

6 SEPTEMBER CONNECTIONS | MONTH 2021

Bon Homme Yankton Electric East River Electric Co-op Total

$151,459 79,150 65,256 $295,865

Taxes To Schools Avon 4-1

$14,863

Bon Homme 4-2

67,045

Scotland 4-3

25,593

Menno 33-2

10,516

Tripp-Delmont 33-4 Viborg 60-5 Irene 63-2 Yankton 63-3 Total

2,873 921 16,917 157,136 $295,864

August is Back to School Month! Best wishes to all our mini-members (and parents) for a wonderful school year!

MANAGER’S COLUMN

training and the alertness of their staff, B-Y Electric has been proactive when it comes to Cyber Security. By partnering with us and participating in our Cyber and I.T. program, they are fully engaged in protecting the electric system and member information. B-Y: Why should we be concerned with hackers? They won’t be interested in a small utility in South Dakota. J.M.: Any device that’s connected to the internet could be considered a target. Once it’s on the web, location is meaningless. It looks the same and faces the same threats whether it’s in Tabor, SD or London. B-Y: What are the top few things we can all do to protect our personal information? J.M.:

Manager’s Column Continued B-Y: Is the electric grid at risk of being hacked like the Colonial Pipeline was? J.M.: Larger Electric Utilities must comply with requirements provided by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Many of these requirements deal directly with securing the Electric Grid and are designed to help protect its integrity. Utilities face constant scans and attacks that our cyber security protocols are designed to protect against. We are all at risk of being hacked, but we work diligently to protect our system. B-Y: What are we doing to prevent

these risks?

J.M.: By having a formal Cyber

Security plan and following industry best practices, we can help mitigate risks.

B-Y: What is the biggest challenge or threat you face? J.M.: Every organization is facing the threat of attack, but one area that is just as critical is social engineering. Social engineering through phone calls or infected emails is an easy way to gather information or compromise a system. Staying vigilant is an important way to protect against this. B-Y: What steps has B-Y Electric

taken to protect the electric system and their members information? J.M.: Through continued cyber

• Create a strong password and change it on a regular basis. • Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. • Use a trusted password manager. • Use caution when clicking on links or attachments. • Keep your antivirus and software up to date.

As you can see, this is some very technical stuff with very serious consequences. Being robbed or held hostage by a person that can be across the room or across the world from you is a very unsettling feeling. B-Y Electric is fortunate to have such a dedicated and knowledgeable team as East River’s to ensure the safety and reliability of our electric grid. Just another step B-Y Electric and East River Electric are taking to ensure you are provided with the best service we can possibly provide.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 7

SPINK RESTAURANT

RISING FROM THE ASHES Rhonda Otten, along with her husband and three sons, has worked to keep Spink Family Restaurant open for business. Photos by Billy Gibson

Spink restaurant emerges strong from hardships brought by fire and pandemic Billy Gibson billy.gibson@sdrea.coop

Old Spink. New Spink. That’s how Rhonda Otten variously refers to her restaurant, depending on whether she’s alluding to the Spink Café that burned down in 2019 or the Spink Family restaurant that was throttled by the pandemic but is thriving today. For more than 20 years, the Spink Café was a big draw in the township located in Union County. The eatery was known for its Friday night fish fries during Lent, Sunday dinners and its famous Spinkburger. The 80-year-old structure had recently been re-decorated with a 50s theme, featuring old LPs, vinyl album covers on the wall and pictures of Elvis Presley. But life for Otten and her husband Sam changed in November of 2019 when the area’s most

popular attraction was totally consumed by fire. The way the Ottens saw it, there was no option but to rebuild. But the planned resurrection of the business wouldn’t occur in the confines of Spink. The new iteration, renamed Spink Family Restaurant, would be located in the old American Legion hall in downtown Elk Point. By all accounts, the “new Spink” wasn’t so easy to bring forth from the ashes. Two weeks after working hard to get the new facility ready for business in Elk Point, the pandemic hit and threatened to dash the Ottens’ hopes for good. “The fire was in November, we made the decision to keep going in December, and we re-opened in March. We were open for two weeks when the pandemic hit, Rhonda said. “Those two weeks were very, very busy. It was a madhouse in

8 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2021

here. We had a lot more space and we were finally getting in the groove.” Facing the same problems as just about every restaurant owner in the state and nation, the Ottens were forced to hit the pause button and try to figure out the next step to take. They closed for a month, regrouped, and then returned to offer carry-out service only. Members of the community rallied to support the restaurant, including employees at Union County Electric located just two blocks away. According to Union County Electric General Manager Matt Klein, the cooperative always strives to support other local businesses that help the community thrive. “At lunchtime you’re likely to see some of our guys eating there,” Klein said. “When they had carryout, we ordered food for meetings and just did what we could to help – just like we do with other members of the community. We help whenever and wherever we can.”

SPINK RESTAURANT

Server Karisma Tripp tends to another satisfied customer at Spink Family Restaurant in Elk Point.

Rhonda said it was inspiring to see the town pull together to face the impact of the pandemic, and also to help the business survive after the back-to-back calamities.

Cody Olson, center, enjoys lunch with his co-workers from Valley Ag Supply.

“The community really supported us and we’re very grateful for that,” she said. “But we’ve seen this many times before; people watching out for each other and helping when there’s a need. That’s what really pushed us through.” One regular patron who is happy to see the new Spink succeeding is Joyce Schermer. She occupied a table in the restaurant one recent lunch hour along with her son Brad Johannsen and his wife Lori. The Johannsens are regular visitors to the

area from Sedona, Ariz., and always make a point to stop at Spink, preferring the hot beef sandwich and the prime rib sandwich. “It’s always good every time you come,” said Schermer, a resident of Akron who opted for her go-to French Dip. “You’re never disappointed in the food or the service. It’s wonderful.” Also enjoying a lunchtime meal were several employees of Valley Ag Supply. The company is located a half mile from the old Spink building that was destroyed by fire. “We used to go there all the time and we were disappointed when it burned down. You could see our fertilizer plant from there,” said Cody Olson while noshing on the French Dip. “Now there’s no place to go. So, we just drive into town because it’s so good. It’s great that they came back and are still operating.” As for “old Spink,” the Ottens are still trying to figure out what to do with the heap left in the wake of the conflagration. The building had an upstairs apartment where several members of the family lived at

Percentage of South Dakota restaurants

75%

forced to lay off some staff members during the pandemic.

various times through the years. “It’s going to have to be torn down eventually, but we just don’t want to let it go,” Rhonda said. “There are so many memories attached to that place; both of our parents were such a big part of it.” She emphasized that while the restaurant is in a new location, the food is the same as before. The Ottens, who have always used family recipes, depend on all three of their sons – ages 17 through 23 – to handle the cooking to maintain consistency on a daily basis. “The secret to our success is that the five of us do all the cooking here. We use time-proven family recipes that have been popular for decades,” Rhonda said.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 9

YOUTH NEWS

CONNECT CON

Connect Con student rides in a bucket truck.

YHS student Elizabeth Elsen selected to attend

In a normal year, B-Y Electric has two opportunities for local high school students to apply for summer travel opportunities planned by South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA). These opportunities are Youth Tour in Washington DC to learn about the political process and Youth Excursion in Bismarck ND to learn about the energy that powers their daily lives. Unfortunately, 2021 was still not a normal year for our youth opportunities. Instead of their usual trips, SDREA planned Connect Con: A Youth Leadership Experience. Connect Con entailed an all-expenses paid trip to the Black Hills. Students stayed on Black Hills State University in Spearfish from July 26-29. The students toured the BHSU campus, Butte Electric Cooperative, Spearfish Hydro Electric Plant, and the D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery. Student heard from speakers on topics including Energy Careers and Youth Leadership Opportunities

and Engagement. To learn about the political process, the students met South Dakota Representative Scyller Borglum and United States Representative Dusty Johnson over Zoom. The students spent their free time doing fun activities like visiting the Spearfish Rec and Aquatics Center and group activities in the BHSU dorm. Bon Homme Yankton Electric selected Elizabeth Elsen of Yankton High School to attend Connect Con. Elizabeth’s parents are Jim and Mary Elsen. Elizabeth will be a senior at Yankton High School this fall, and she in interested in pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering after high school. Elizabeth is involved in Science Olympiad, Book Club, Cross Country, Track and Field, National Honor Society, and Yankton Area Summer Band. She volunteers at the Yankton Public Library and Yankton Area Banquet. She won first place at the USD Math Contest, and she tutors for Math Is Fun. Elizabeth had a great time on the

10 SEPTEMBER CONNECTIONS | MONTH 2021

trip despite the hot weather. The temperature hovered around 100° F the entire trip! Her favorite part of the trip was the D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery tour.

Elizabeth Elsen (far right)

Connect Con Students meeting Dusty Johnson over Zoom.

CO-OP NEWS

Attention: Due to the national shortages and long delivery times, it is extremely important that you contact us early with any projects you have going on! Contact us about service upgrades, new bin construction, and any new projects. RE-ENERGIZING SAFETY

CUT CORN NOT CORNERS Time is a precious commodity, especially during harvest. However, cutting safety corners while harvesting around power lines can be deadly. Taking a moment to be prepared can help prevent catastrophic accidents. Knowing what to do if an accident does occur can be the difference between life and death.

Contact your local Touchstone Energy® Cooperative or visit YourCoopPower.com to find safety tips and make a plan.

FREE Classiﬁed Ad Service

Members can submit classiﬁed ads for the following categories: Giveaway, For Sale, For Rent, and Wanted Ads. All ads must be received by the ﬁrst of the month to be included in the following month’s issue. Ads will run one time unless resubmitted. Bon Homme Yankton Electric reserves the right to edit content or exclude ads due to space restrictions. Email ads to Jaclyn Arens at jarens@ byelectric.com.

CLASSIFIEDS

August Issue Deadline: July 1, 2020. Email your classiﬁed ad to: jarens@byelectric. com. Members can post one free ad per year. Repeats or longer ads are $1/column inch. • FOR RENT: 1 bedroom apartment. Tabor Manor. Contact Gary at 605-463-2209 or Ron at 605-463-2256. • Beseda Hall, Tabor, SD for rent for any special occasion such as weddings, anniversaries, graduation or birthdays! For more information contact Linda Bares at 605-661-6220 or snlbares@gmail.com. • FOR RENT: Tabor Self Storage. Call 605-660-0274 or 605-660-3497.

Statement of non-discrimination

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www. ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 11

DEALING WITH DROUGHT

LEARNING FROM ADVERSITY

The Dakota Lakes Research Farm produces information helpful to farmers and ranchers dealing with drought. Photos by Billy Gibson

SDSU agriculture researcher Dwayne Beck looks for better ways to gain higher yields through crop rotations and other techniques Billy Gibson billy.gibson@sdrea.coop

The drought conditions that gripped the state through the summer months caused difficulty for farmers and ranchers. The drought in 2012 also made it difficult to grow and harvest a productive crop. But it’s the drought that occurred in 1988 that Dwayne Beck remembers most. Beck, 70, is a researcher with SDSU who runs the Dakota Lakes research farm near Canning. According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, as of June 23 more than 97 percent of South Dakota and all of Minnesota were categorized as “abnormally dry.” As someone who considers himself a seasoned investigator and problem solver, Beck looks at the current drought conditions as an

opportunity to learn. So, what exactly did the farming and ranching community learn in 1988 when adverse weather conditions caused an estimated $60 billion in agricultural damage across the U.S.? “We learned not to do tillage,” Beck responds without hesitation. “This drought is about the worse I’ve seen since 1988, and we learned then that in this part of the country if you till, you’re screwed. No-till gives you a chance to have a decent crop and run a viable farming operation.” And the key to succeeding without tilling is proper crop rotation. That’s what keeps Beck and other researchers busy. On a recent afternoon, Melanie Caffe and her assistant Nick Paul were operating a small combine to gather their test crops laid out in strips measuring five feet wide by 20

12 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2021

feet long. Caffe, a native of France, is an ag professor at SDSU, while Paul is a local farmer and research technician. The two-member team moved from section to section, cleaning out the collection bin as they went to keep the samples from being contaminated and corrupting the research data. The samples were

Dwayne Beck runs the Dakota Farms research facility near Canning.

DEALING WITH DROUGHT

HOPS GROWERS NAVIGATING THEIR WAY THROUGH CHANGING INDUSTRY Billy Gibson billy.gibson@sdrea.coop

Melanie Caffe and Nick Paul collect samples from a field at the Dakota Farms Research Station near Canning.

bagged and taken into the lab where Caffe and Paul planned to perform fertility experiments with the goal of developing varieties with higher yield, higher quality and stronger drought resistance. Much of the research centers around maximizing yields through effective crop rotations. Beck has spent much of his career considering the ways farming was conducted 100 or more years ago and how it can be improved. “The Natives grew crops before the Spaniards came and brought horses. They were all no-tillers because they didn’t have cows and horses to pull the plows. They grew 13 different kinds of corn, beans, squash and sunflowers. They were very successful. The settlers never asked anyone how to grow crops here, they just got out their plow and started turning over the soil.” Beck has seen the wonders of crop rotation in his research. Some of his fields are rotated five ways. “Good rotations can produce a lack of disturbance in places where you don’t have a lot of water. Our research shows 99 percent of resistance issues could be solved with better crop rotations. There are fields where we haven’t used insecticides for 18 years.” Beck said his methods aren’t always adopted by industry but he continues to gather data and push out the information obtained through research. “The nice about being a research guy is you always have more things to learn,” he said. “The more you research, the more you don’t know, but we’re always looking for answers.”

In many ways, Ryan Heine is like the average South Dakota farmer. He frets about the weather, plans for the future, worries about finances, watches the markets and is constantly trying to find a buyer for the crop he hopes will make. But his crop is unlike most of the others that emerge from the South Dakota soil. Heine is owner of 6th Meridian Hop Farm near Yankton. His is one of six such farms left in the state growing hops for brewers to transform into craft beer. Heine also sees his work as different compared to most farmers – he relies on his nose a lot. “There’s a lot of experimenting with different aromas. There are so many flavor profiles and varieties of hops that are used in creating craft beer,” he said. “There’s a vast palette of different aromas, and the market will dictate what consumers prefer.” Ryan and his wife Michelle launched their hop operation in 2014, leaving Omaha and returning to the small family farm near Yankton in pursuit of a more grounded lifestyle for their five children. “We wanted to get out of the city and back to our farming roots,” said Ryan, who works remotely as an electrical engineer for a company out of Minneapolis. Ryan’s interest in growing the essential elements of craft beer began when he was a student at Parks College in St. Louis, Mo. He went out with his friends and found most of what was offered at bars, pubs and restaurants was bland and uninspiring. He knew he liked the flavor of beer and he knew he liked the simplicity of the farming lifestyle. “So I started doing some home brewing and found that it was a fun hobby to pursue. Now we have one of the biggest operations in the state,” he said. Heine’s time on the farm is spent fussing over flavor and aroma profiles, acid levels, yeast growth, oil content, insect invasions, disease infections and more. He and Michelle do all the growing, harvesting, processing, drying, pulverizing, preserving, pressing and packaging. He finds markets by visiting with brewers, forging relationships across the region and even keeping in touch with his college buddies. “There are some college roommates I’ve kept in touch with who are brewers and we’re always talking about how to improve our products,” he said. “Hops growers are down to just a handful in the state, but for those who have survived, I think the outlook is good.”

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 13

A STICKY SITUATION

BULLISH ON BEES Beekeeping industry struggles with drought and other obstacles along with overall agriculture sector Billy Gibson billy.gibson@sdrea.coop

Becoming a beekeeper wasn’t something Chad Holbrook dreamed about back when he worked as a farm loan officer in Texas. But he decided it might be an interesting hobby, so about 10 years ago he bought himself a hive just for the fun of it. As things sometimes tend to go, one hive led to two, two hives led to four and before he knew it, Holbrook was giving his day job the boot. Goodbye business suit, hello beekeeping suit. These days, Holbrook manages about 3,000 hives out of his main headquarters in Fairfax, MN, although he still has some hives back in Texas. A member of Renville-

Sibley Co-op Power, he ships his hives for pollination purposes all across the Midwest and to other regions as well to help growers gain higher crop yields. “After I got my first bee hive I just really enjoyed doing it, and it snowballed and just kept increasing every year,” Holbrook said. “I finally quit my day job to run the business in January of 2017, which is something I never thought I’d do.” That’s a move that took some courage because Holbrook knew from his brief experience that while bees can be tough buggers, they also have plenty of obstacles threatening their place in nature and their very existence. After all, some of the boxes, frames, pallets and extraction equipment he purchased to start

14 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2021

his own operation were acquired from beekeepers making a bee-line straight out of the business. The list of real and potential apiary antagonists is long. Apiculturists are constantly trying to protect their colonies from various types of threats including several species of mites, insecticides, pesticides, extreme weather and destruction of their habitat. One pitfall not often discussed in the public discourse is the attrition that takes place from merely moving colonies from one patch of farmland to the next, and in some cases, moving hives from one spot to another to protect them during the inclement non-pollinating months. Holbrook figures the attrition rate can be up to 10 percent anytime hives are loaded onto a truck and hauled to different locations. It’s a significant loss considering an estimated one-third of the world’s food supply depends on the pollination work performed by

A STICKY SITUATION

The estimated value

$9.2 billion

of the worldwide honey market

Honey bees pollinate roughly one-third of the world’s agriculture crops.

honey bees. Since 2010, beekeepers in South Dakota, Minnesota and across the country have experienced historically high colony loss rates of nearly 30 percent a year impacting roughly 90 different agricultural crops ranging from almonds and apples on the West Coast to cotton and cranberries in the East. “Keeping them alive is the hardest thing,” Holbrook said. “There are substances farmers use to manage vegetation and help their crops, but it’s causing a reduction in the forage area for bees. But everybody has to make a living and I don’t fault the farmers…if I were them I’d probably be doing the same thing. But we can all look for ways to be more environmentally friendly because we’re all making a living off nature.”

Holbrook, who describes himself as a migratory commercial beekeeper, typically transports bees to California every January to pollinate that state’s almond crop and then heads to his facility in Texas to extract honey. July is the slowest month of the year, then there’s a short fall season before the bees head to an indoor storage facility in Idaho for protection against the cold. Despite the drought conditions that have caused stress for farmers, ranchers and apiculturists across the region, Holbrook is bullish on the beekeeping industry. He noted that the city of Sioux Falls recently approved an ordinance that allows residents to maintain hives on their property. Would-be beekeepers must

apply for a permit, take an online class, inform their neighbors of their intentions and adhere to other prescribed guidelines. Holbrook reports that through the spring and summer seasons - and despite the drought - honey prices have seen an upward shift. For instance, he said the price for honey in the region last year was about $1.70 per pound but has climbed to more than $2.25. The international market is expected to expand from $9.2 billion to $19 billion by 2028. “We were fortunate that we’ve had some timely rains and the hot, dry weather hasn’t caused problems for my business. It has been an average crop for me. But you don’t ever really know for sure until the honey is extracted,” he said.

According to owner Kiah Crowley, Sunrise Hives in Spearfish maintains about 400 bee colonies. Photo by Sunrise Hives

SEPTEMBER 2021 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 15

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