Volume CVIII, No. 6 Huron, SD SEPT/OCT 2023
A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION
SERVING SOUTH DAKOTA’S FARM & RANCH FAMILIES SINCE 1915.
Cooperative Reflects on Legacy Focused on Future
Farmers Union Day at the South Dakota State Fair
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Farmers Union Sponsors A Wish
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Landowner Rights Focus of State Fair Panel
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SDFU Celebrates Lyman County Ranch Family
2023 FLY-IN
South Dakota Farmers & Ranchers Take on Secretary of Agriculture’s Challenge During D.C. Fly-In
U
. S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is not afraid to get
creative when it comes to securing a future for America’s farm and ranch families. During his Sept. 11 conversation with family farmers and ranchers during the National Farmers Union D.C. Fly-In, Vilsack asked this question: “How many farms have we lost in the United States from the time I left this job the first time I was Secretary of Agriculture in 2017?” The answer: 16,700 farms.
Policy Meeting Continued on Page 4
Save the Date for
2023 State Convention Nov. 30-Dec. 1
The Bunker family custom grazes cattle near Reliance: Bryan and Amber pictured with their children, Evelyn, Roy, Laird and Si. (Photo is thanks to the talent of Ashley Korzan: www.korzancustomsphotography.com)
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rowing up, Amber (Hammerbeck) Bunker dreamed of becoming a plant geneticist. “I remember riding in the car with my dad and asking him why there was grass on one side of the road and sagebrush on the other side,” Amber recalled. “He said, ‘girl, you have the right question, but I don’t have the answer.’ I thought I would become the next Norman Borlaug.’” Borlaug was a Nobel Prize winner known as the father of the Green Revolution. To find the answers and pursue her dream, Amber majored in agronomy at South Dakota State University. It was in a genetics class at SDSU that she met Bryan Bunker, a ranch kid from Reliance pursuing a degree in animal science. Meeting Bryan changed her life in more ways than one. “I got a B and Bryan got an A. It was then that I decided to admire plant genetics from afar,” Amber said. Instead of focusing on plant genetics, Amber changed her focus and
Bunker Family Continued on Page 2