Lura Roti

Livestock judging is a more than a century-old competition that remains alive and well in South Dakota. And South Dakota State University collegiate livestock judges work to prepare the next generation through a livestock judging camp held each summer on the campus of SDSU in Brookings.

A cat’s eyes. Its whiskers. The way it gracefully springs into action to attack its toy prey – Judith Peterson loves studying her cat and companion, Chai. Since 2017, the Sioux Falls physician and artist has created several hundred works of art inspired by her feline friend.

History is all around us. And for more than two decades Sioux Falls retiree Gary Conradi has made it his mission to capture elements of South Dakota history through photographs.

We all know someone who knows everything about something. Cody Henrichs’ friends and family know he is a connoisseur of socks.

Drew Kraft is a young Wessington Springs farmer. Together with his father, Kraft operates a diverse livestock and crop operation which includes hogs and cattle.

There’s a lot at stake as South Dakota farmers fill planters with seed and head into their fields this spring.2022 commodity markets are up 62 percent over the 10-year average. And at the same time this growing season began with much of the state in drought conditions.

Spearfish, South Dakota is the setting for children’s book written by Lauren R. Harris. A Place for Harvest tells the story of World War II Veteran and Japanese American Kenny Higashi.Born in Belle Fourche and raised on a Spearfish vegetable farm, Higashi only left his beloved hometown to serve his country.

Most livestock raised for meat consumption in South Dakota are not marketed direct to consumers. As recent as 2020 some 2.1 million-head of cattle and 7.8 million hogs are sold on contract or through an auction market to large processors.Although this is how most South Dakota livestock are marketed, a growing number of the farmers and ranchers who raise them, are cutting out the middleman.

As South Dakota farmers gear up for Planting Season 2022 they are looking at commodity market increases due to the ongoing war in the Ukraine. And because the Ukraine is the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil – sunflower farmers in South Dakota are looking at price increases of 60 percent over a year ago.But this market spike does not mean there will be a rush to plant more acres of sunflowers. SDPB’s Lura Roti has this story.

Anthony Williams is a retired Navy Veteran. Captivated by the history of the American West, he decided to make his post-Navy life in Deadwood. He bought a historic home and volunteers his time serving on the Historic Preservation Commission of Deadwood. During a recent preservation conference in Rapid City, he visited with SDPB’s Lura Roti about his passion for history and preserving it.