Volume CX, No. 7 Huron, SD NOV/DEC 2025
A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION
SERVING SOUTH DAKOTA’S FARM & RANCH FAMILIES SINCE 1915.
2025 Photo Contest Winners Announced
Farmers Union Helps Feed the Hungry
PAGE 10
Meet the 2025 Herd Builders
PAGES 5 & 12
Cattle Producers Call for Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling in Response to Tariff Removal on Argentine Beef
PAGE 13
Rancher Shares Impact of Service
PAGE 16
South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates McCook County Farm Family
“Hopefully we can use this unified frustration and anger to get the momentum we need for MCOOL.”
R
Scott Kolousek, Wessington Springs
aising cattle is tough work, and the cattle ranchers who have the grit to take on the task of feeding and protecting the U.S. beef supply through blizzards, drought and 3 a.m. calving emergencies will tell you although it can be grueling at times, the work is rewarding.
Argentine Beef Continued on Page 4
Have Your Voice Heard!
Attend 2025 SDFU State Convention Dec. 10 & 11 in Huron
TURN TO PAGE 8
The Westhoff family farms in McCook County: Shaina and Paul with their children, William, 6, Tessa, 4, Ruby, 1, Paul, 8.
W
eekday mornings can be a bit chaotic on the Westhoff Farm. Shaina needs to be out the door and on the road by 6:45 a.m. to teach at South Dakota State University. So, before he heads to the farm, Paul is in charge of getting 8-year-old Paul and 6-year-old William on the school bus by 7:45 a.m. and 4-year-old Tessa and 1-year-old Ruby to daycare. “It can be stressful sometimes, but being a dad is pretty great,” said the fifth-generation McCook farmer. Raising the children on the family farm is important to Paul and Shaina. “Out on the farm the kids can be very loud, and no one gets mad, and they learn responsibility,” Shaina said. “I love getting home from work and telling my 6 and 8-year-olds, ‘you need to do chores – feed the kitties and get the eggs.’” Unlike Paul, Shaina did not grow up on a farm. She grew up near Minneapolis. In school she enjoyed both English and science but found
Westhoff Family Continued on Page 2