Volume CXI, No. 1 Huron, SD JAN/FEB 2026
A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION
SERVING SOUTH DAKOTA’S FARM & RANCH FAMILIES SINCE 1915. Audrey Keierleber is 2025 Minnie Lovinger Honoree
Wayne Soren is 2025 Ag Ambassador
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Tri-State Young Producer Conference
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Times are Tough and Family Farmers and Ranchers Are Speaking Out During 110th South Dakota Farmers Union Convention
Farming for the Future Scholarship Winners
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Farmers Union Celebrates Buffalo County Ranch Family
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outh Dakotans are known for being polite and neighborly, but as family farmers and ranchers face trade war-induced low commodity prices and continue to wait for an updated Farm Bill, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew urged agriculture producers to lean into another strong trait … stubbornness. Continued on Page 4
State Convention
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The Petersen family: Alexa, Jayslee, Coy, Calvin, Leah and Maisy.
Make Your Voice Heard Save the Date for Legislative Day 2026
MARCH 3, 10 a.m. Details on page 19
ccording to the Petersen family, the family who works cattle together … can accomplish just about anything together. “It can sometimes be chaos, but we all love each other in the end,” Leah Petersen explained of working cattle with her husband, Calvin, and four children: daughters, Jayslee, Alexa, Maisy, and son, Coy. “It’s a bonding experience for sure,” explained 20-year-old Alexa. “You learn how to do things the right way real quick, because if something goes wrong, you need to fix it right away,” added 17-year-old Maisy. Their dad, Calvin, agreed, adding, “If you can work cattle with your family and still get along at the end of the day, you can work with anyone.” It’s a sunny and mild, afternoon in early January. The Petersen family worked a set of steers just this morning before cleaning up to sit down and visit about the cattle operation that has been in their family for three generations.
Petersen Family Continued on Page 2