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South Dakota dairy opportunities bring challenges

A South Dakota farmer is part of the state’s new dairy boon.

Allen Merrill is a dairy farmer on the outskirts of Parker, South Dakota.  Merrill tells Brownfield some dairy operations moved herds while others are developing new herds.  “What I’ve seen is new generations coming to South Dakota that have been in the industry with family for a long time, be it they’re coming from California or from Illinois or Ohio, there’s just a lot of different footprints around, but South Dakota they see as an opportunity.  We have a tremendous feed source.  We have wide open spaces.”

Merrill tells Brownfield it’s a new opportunity for South Dakota, but with it comes challenges.  “What do we do with the milk?  We know, we need to get it processed and we’ve lost processors in previous years and it would be nice to have ‘em back.”

As a group, Merrill says farmers are working to bring more milk processing to South Dakota.  “We’ve been fortunate.  We had Bell Brands that joined us about five years ago.  The state is working very aggressively in trying to bring some in.”

Merrill tells Brownfield farmers have approached the Parker community about siting a dairy processing plant and having the land ready to develop.  “This is what we want.  We’ve told the community that we’d love to bring a dairy processing plant here, and they’ve been very supportive.”

Merrill lives about 15 miles off the I-29 corridor, where much of the rapid dairy expansion has taken place.  He says adding processing locally would also bring needed jobs, as many residents commute to Sioux Falls for work.

Merrill spoke with Brownfield during the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting conference in Kansas City.