State Veterinarian Doctor Dustin Oedekoven is now the interim South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture. He says he’s looking forward to gaining a better perspective of the department.
Oedekoven says he’s honored to serve as interim Agriculture Secretary. He says one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture in South Dakota today is getting young people involved.
“There’s a lot of opportunity, but some big challenges in getting people to remain in agriculture in our state. So both a challenge and an opportunity there,” Oedekoven says. “Also, I think we’ve got a lot of opportunities for livestock production expansion in South Dakota. And that comes with many challenges as well.”
Oedekoven says he looks forward to discussing these issues as he holds the post while the search for a permanent Agriculture Secretary takes place.