South Dakota Woos Dairy Farmers from Out of State
Thirsty for milk, and the money that comes with it, South Dakota has ramped up efforts to recruit dairyfarmers from other states and countries, including England, Ireland and The Netherlands.
South Dakota isn't alone in the recruitment game, as North Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Texas and other states attempt to prove they are the dairy industry's next frontier.
Simply put, "they want what we have," said Shelly Mayer, a dairyfarmer near Slinger, Wis., and executive director of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin.
Mayer said she and her husband, Dwight, were recruited by Kansas with the offer of wide-open spaces, attractive to farmers who felt crowded by urban sprawl.
"As a farm kid who grew up in southwestern Wisconsin, I miss some of that," Mayer said. "You could say they have the open spaces and great big places, which is wonderful."
Some states have been recruiting dairyfarmers for years "I think. the Dakotas are just getting more aggressive about it," Mayer said.
It was noticeable this fall at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., where representatives from the Mount Rushmore state made pitches to dairyfarmers about why they should relocate.
Two South Dakota dairy processors put up billboards in Tulare County, Calif., which has about 340,000 dairy cows, saying "All our cows in South Dakota are happy."
The billboards followed an earlier ad campaign that touted South Dakota as a better place for dairy business because, unlike California, it doesn't have quotas that limit milk production.
"We think South Dakota is a good place to milk cows," said state Agriculture Secretary Walter Bones. "Our state is one of those areas with tremendous untapped potential."
Earlier this year, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard went to California on a recruiting mission, telling reporters "we're on a cattle roundup. So if you're out there in the world of dairying and you're looking for a place to plant your dairy, South Dakota is open for business."
Some California farmers have shown interest in relocating to South Dakota and elsewhere in the Upper Midwest as the cost of cattle feed has soared in Western states and it has become more expensive to do business because of taxes, regulations and rising land prices.
"We think once they start coming, more will follow," said Jon Davis, CEO of Davisco Food International, which has a cheese factory in South Dakota and backs the billboard campaign.
South Dakota sells dairy products worldwide. Earlier this year, Bel Brands USA said it was building a $100 million cheese plant near Brookings, in the eastern part of the state, that will employ 400 people.
"People have invested a lot of money in the processing industry here. The only piece of the puzzle that's missing is the farms," Davis said.
The state's industry has persuaded European dairyfarmers to move here, and it helped a Costa Rican dairy operation relocate to the prairie, although that farm folded after a short time.
Altogether, South Dakota has successfully recruited about 23 dairyfarms in the last couple of years, most of them capable of handling 1,000 cows or more.
The state doesn't have a personal income tax, corporate tax, inventory tax or business tax. And, more than anything else, it has millions of acres of farmland suited for growing livestock feed.
The rural landscape is one of the state's strongest selling points.
"If you are in an area where urban sprawl is infringing on your ability to farm, South Dakota would be a good place to consider," said David Skaggs, a dairy development specialist with that state's agriculture department.
South Dakota officials say the economic benefits of the dairy industry in their state are significant, even if they're small by other states' standards.
Every dairy cow in the state, they say, adds $13,453 dollars a year to the economy.
Davis, with Davisco International Foods, said his company would quit importing milk from Idaho if enough milk were available in South Dakota. The company says it's one of the largest suppliers to Kraft Foods and that it exports products worldwide.
MCT John Koepke checks in on his pregnant cows on rounds at his dairyfarm north of Oconomowoc, Wis., near Lac LaBelle, Nov. 15. The Koepkes checked out the possibility of moving to South Dakota where officials there and in some other states are recruiting dairyfarmers.
