U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was in South Dakota yesterday touring wetland areas in Brown County that are part of the Prairie Pothole Region. The Secretary has heard many complaints since taking office about the negative impact of the backlog of wetland determinations made by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in the Dakotas. While in the state he met with NRCS staff from both North and South Dakota to talk about this issue.

Perdue says NRCS has a tough job balancing the interests of farmers while protecting the grassland and wetland areas in the region.

Another area the Secretary heard about was the use of cover crops in South Dakota farming systems.

Perdue also traveled to Timber Lake to visit with the Intertribal Agriculture Council.