Meet Dawn and Patrick Scheier

by: Christen Duxbury

posted in:

July 6, 2013

DAWN & PATRICK SCHEIER (Pronunciation note: Scheier rhymes with tire.)

Scheier Farms: Near Salem, SD

Row Crops: Corn & Soybeans

Acreage: 1,600; also farm with brother for a total of 3,000 acres

Family: 3 adult children: Rebecca Lacey, 24; Ben & Brittany, 22. Ben is part-time farming with his parents.

History: Patrick is a fourth generation farmer. His great-grandfather homesteaded in South Dakota. Patrick grew up on the family farm five miles from his current farm. He started his own operation in 1980 and married Dawn in 1983. Both are full time farmers now. Previously they had operated cow-calf and hog operations.

Conservation: Some no till, shelter belts, & grass ditches

Why are you participating in the Conservation Exchange?

Dawn: I like to learn. TRCP is a lot about wildlife preservation, and South Dakota is a good hunting area. I also want to learn about the Dead Zone; we hear a lot that. They (Louisiana fishermen) provide food too. It will be interesting to see and hear their perspectives.

Patrick: The fishing interests me the most. I want to learn about that area – learn about governmental regulations they (Louisiana fishermen) face, environmental issues…what they go through. And they can learn about what it takes to farm here.

What Else: Dawn is a public speaking volunteer with Common Ground, a consumer education program about farming and how food is raised, funded through the corn and soybean check-off dollars.

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by: Christen Duxbury

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Meet Joey Hanson

Agronomist & Farmer

Agronomist & Certified Crop Advisor: Now With Valley Ag Supply in Gayville, SD, and starting his own custom strip till business, Diversified Agronomics

Farm: Family Farm near Elk Point, SD

Row Crops: Corn & Soybeans

Acreage: Under 200

Family: 3-year-old son, Austin James Hanson, who wants to be on the family farm 24 hours day.

History: Joey’s grandparents started the family farm in the 1940s. After Joey’s dad died in a farming accident in 2006, Joey moved back to the farm in 2007. He and his brother, James, who is a precision ag technician with International Case in Sioux Falls, manage the farm together.

Conservation: Will start over cropping this summer, followed by strip tilling in the fall.

Why are you participating in the Conservation Exchange?

I have a small farm and am just starting conservation practices. I hope to gain more knowledge and expertise from those who have been doing it for some time. It opens up another door for long-term ag sustainability here in south Dakota.

What do you hope to learn?

I want to learn about some of the issues they are having in the Gulf: hypoxia and water quality issues that stem from practices a couple thousand miles north of them. I want to learn how it’s affecting their practices; how it’s changing their practices; how government looks at it.

And I want to learn about their culture of agriculture. So much of agriculture has turned into business: agribusiness. I want to learn how we can help each other…what we can do to become better stewards.

What Else: Joey knows the other South Dakota participants through the South Dakota Agriculture and Rural Leadership program.

by: Christen Duxbury

posted in:

July 2, 2013

July Fourth Giveaway

Do you want a chance to win the greatest book of hunting stories ever?

In celebration of America’s hunting heritage, we’re giving you a chance to win “The Gigantic Book of Hunting Stories.”

So why haven’t you signed up yet? (Trust us – it’s easy.)

Take 10 seconds and throw your name in right now.

Independence Day is a big deal and we want to give you an extra reason to celebrate.

by: Peter Hamma

posted in:

July 1, 2013

Field Reports: 2013 Duck Production Outlook

The stage is set for good waterfowl production in many important breeding areas.

Ducks Unlimited field biologists have been busy studying habitat and breeding conditions and just released their duck production outlook. The map below shows an outline of their findings.

To get the full picture and find out how habitat in your area is faring, visit Ducks Unlimited.

by: Christen Duxbury

posted in:

June 27, 2013

Only 3 More Days to Speak up for Bristol Bay

Join the TRCP and the sporting community in protecting the abundant fish and wildlife resources in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Speak up today and be entered to win a trip for two in Alaska’s Crystal Creek Lodge.

The time is now to tell the EPA to act upon its scientifically sound watershed assessment showing Bristol Bay salmon are at grave risk if Pebble Mine is allowed to proceed.

Pebble would be the largest open pit mine in North America and would create up to 10.8 billion tons of waste containing heavy metal toxins known to destroy salmon spawning and rearing habitat.

Southwest Alaska’s remarkable web of abundant wildlife, including salmon, bears, moose, wolves and migratory waterfowl, is in serious jeopardy – along with one of the nation’s foremost sporting destinations.