Planting seeds for the future by Connie Sieh Groop, Farm Forum Editor Each spring offers us challenges. Some years we get too much rain, some years not enough. And some years the timing of the rains and cool weather just don’t make sense. We just don’t have a normal year any more. The U.S. Drought

Seeds of a different kind will be planted at two events in Pierre next week.

I’ll be at the Oahe Farm and Home Show at the Oahe Speedway on Tuesday. For those who attended last year, we’re hoping the temperatures will be a lot cooler. New equipment and ideas will be offered at seminars and at exhibits. As the organizers have made many changes to the flow and program offerings, we hope to see many people there. And the admission is free. See Page 96F.

On Wednesday, the Governor’s Ag Development Summit at the Ramkota calls for farmers and ranchers to gather to develop action plans for agriculture within South Dakota.

I talked to Ag Secretary Lucas Lentsch earlier this month about the conference.

“We have done an analysis and talked about priorities for agriculture in South Dakota,” said Lucas. “We need to bring together action plans. At the key leader round tables, there has been a lot of buy-in from the organizations that come together for these meeting. That has brought the level of expectations up for those attending. We want to make sure that all of the voices are heard from the many facets that make up our one industry. It’s people coming together to find out what unites us and what divides us.”

We hope these sessions result in fertile seeds to advance agriculture throughout the area.