South Dakota’s dairy recruitment efforts are starting to pay off, beyond just the addition of the Bel Brands cheese plant to Brookings. Governor Dennis Daugaard says there are dairies from the southern U.S. looking at relocating to the I-29 corridor after various trips including the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California.
State Secretary of Ag Lucas Lentsch says the dairies they are courting are interested in relocating to get away from the burdens of environmental regulations, water shortages and high cost feeds. They are also looking for a business friendly site.
He says their goal is to rebuild the state’s dairy herd to around 200,000 head since the economic impact of each cow is huge.
Currently he says the state only has around 100,000 dairy cows