South Dakota Farm Bureau will have a strong presence at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo (BHSS) taking place at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center and Central States Fairgrounds Jan. 27 – Feb. 4 in Rapid City.

Livestock shows and sales, professional rodeos, trade show and educational activities are just a few of the events on tap at the event that draws close to 300,000 attendees during the nine-day show.

“We are excited to be part of this annual event to share more about the benefits of being a Farm Bureau member as well as visit with attendees about our Centennial Community Initiative,” said Krystil Smit, SDFB Executive Director.

The Centennial Community Initiative is a grant program for community projects that make a difference, have high visibility and reflect Farm Bureau’s mission and vision. SDFB will be reinvesting $100,000 in local communities for community improvement projects in 2017 as part of the organization’s centennial year.

Also during the BHSS, the SDFB Women’s Leadership Team (WLT) will offer educational activities in the Civic Center for area middle school students.

“The WLT is teaching an educational session on poultry and eggs as well as helping with sessions on beef during the show,” added Smit. “They are expecting 700 students from area schools during the event.”

SDFB will be in LaCroix Hall at the Civic Center in booths #17 and #18. The SDFB Young Farmers & Ranchers will be selling raffle tickets for two Henry Golden Rifles. The rifle drawing will take place at the SDFB Centennial Convention November 17-18 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

A special event at BHSS is a Rancher Appreciation Social, sponsored by the Pennington/Jackson County Farm Bureau, which takes place on Monday, January 30, 2017. For tickets, stop by the SDFB booth at BHSS.

For more information on the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo visit www.blackhillsstoccckssshow.com. For more information on South Dakota Farm Bureau visit www.sdfbf.org.