Members of the South Dakota Farm Bureau met on August 26 in Fort Pierre to conduct the business of the State Resolutions Committee, preparing policy resolutions for review at the organization’s annual meeting which takes place in November.

SDFB reports that 15 county Farm Bureau chairmen or vice chairmen took part in the State Resolutions Committee process, representing county Farm Bureaus from across the state.  The group discussed more than 30 draft policy resolutions that will be passed on to the South Dakota Farm Bureau annual meeting for consideration by the entire delegate body.

“We continue to have excellent participation in Farm Bureau’s policy-making process, which starts at the county level with resolutions that come from our farmer and rancher members,” said Wanda Blair, Vice Chair of the South Dakota Farm Bureau and a rancher from Vale, S.D. near Sturgis.  “The resolutions process is more than just another meeting. This is the way farmers and ranchers can have a direct say in these important issues as they are debated in our state and national capitols.  If you want to have a voice in agriculture issues, I encourage you to participate in your local County Farm Bureau.”

Top issues brought forward by this year’s Farm Bureau resolutions process dealt with crop insurance coverage for grasslands, better enforcement of trespass laws, management of proprietary information generated by precision agriculture technologies, and having more effective water management statewide. These issues, and all other resolutions, will be discussed at the SDFB annual meeting in Pierre on November 22-24, 2013.

South Dakota Farm Bureau represents more than 13,000 farm, ranch and rural families across the state.