By Angelina Della Rocco
For the Plainsman
After two decades of successful business in Huron, Dakota Provisions celebrates 20 years since the beginning of its venture.
A family event to show appreciation for all employees was held at the DEX, where many were seen participating in carnival games, enjoying bounce houses, food and fun for all ages.
“We have been going strong for 20 years,” said Jordan Woodbury, CEO. “We have over 1000 employees – today is about them.”
Oscar Luque, HR Director, added, “The company has a very strong foundation. You can see the growth from different generations. It’s been a fun ride.”
“We were founded 20 years ago by the Hutterite colonies,” explained Woodbury. “They provide us with all of our turkeys. We are a turkey harvesting facility, but we also focus on further processing.”
There are 41 local growers who provide the birds to the plant. As the largest employer in Huron, not only does DP have a substantial impact on the local economy, Woodbury notes they were also instrumental in shaping the diverse culture the community has today.
“From my perspective, it’s very important to the community because of all the jobs that we have created and all the people we have brought to Huron.”
“We went down to the St Paul area and brought 52 families in to work at the plant. It has grown since,” he added. “Some of their family members moved here, and now, of course, we are into the next generation of those families.”
Jeff Sveen, Chairman of the Board, explained that at the beginning, he was approached by members of the Colony with a business idea to start their own plant.
“Initially, I’m a lawyer from Aberdeen, and I worked with the Hutterite Colonies. Back in 2002, four guys showed up at my office and had a little study put together.”
Colony members explained to Sveen that they were interested in having him arrange the business plan and put together their vision.
“So I did,” Sveen responded.
An exploratory study was conducted at that time to see if the business idea was possible, which led to the conclusion that it was, and it received much support from the state.
There are three processing facilities in Huron, as well as a retailer where the community has access to purchase local meat along with other goods.
“We have Wyshbone Market and our own laboratory that does all of our chemical and micro testing,” Woodbury highlighted the availability of fresh local turkey and other South Dakota products in Huron.
The Wyshbone Market was established in 2012 and is located at 352 Market St SW, Huron, as well as a Brookings location, which opened in 2015.
“Wyshbone Market was created to give the community and our employees an opportunity to buy the products we make, plus an outlet to sell without having to transport across the U.S. It has been great for the company and the community,” explained Woodbury.
It was also noted that there have been times when the company had to overcome some obstacles.
“We’ve had challenges with COVID and highly pathogenic avian influenza, but we have made it through these hurdles. We were fortunate to get enough birds to the plant and keep our customers supplied with product. It was challenging, but we didn’t lose any customers; we somehow made it work,” Woodbury discussed.
Along with the challenges come the highlights of the company, including the expansion of the further processing business.
“We built the west facility, which is all further processing, back in 2018,” Woodbury said. “So growing on that business and keeping that going has been positive – that is what our core business is based on.”
“There are going to be some changes in terms of the products that we produce. Our objective is to make further processed products out of our turkeys. Changes that occur over the next ten years in terms of convenience and taking home to prepare a meal,” he continued. “It has to be convenient these days; the more convenient the better. So we are going to look at what the customer wants and adapt to that.”
Kim Brown, Executive Secretary and long-term employee, shared, “It is a great company to work for.”
“Kim was our first employee,” Sveen shared.
“When the plant started going, I worked with a lot of the growers,” Brown noted. “I scheduled the birds to come into the plant and their payments, I did that for 15 years or so.”
“And now she’s our Executive Assistant,” Sveen added.
Sveen said, “It’s neat that we can have this impact on Huron and bring all these people in. We have great employees and a great company.”
“We are appreciative of the community of Huron, the state of South Dakota, and all our employees do for us as we continue to be successful and move forward,” Woodbury stated.
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