To the Editor:
From the prairies to the badlands, agriculture and wildlife have helped shaped South Dakota’s history, cultural heritage, and way of life. South Dakotans know that farmers and ranchers are the best stewards of our land—and our communities and wildlife thrive when they’re provided with tools and resources. 

No piece of federal legislation is more important for farmers, ranchers, or private lands conservationists than the Farm Bill. Republicans and Democrats came together in December to pass the 2018-2022 Farm Bill. The bill, championed by Senator John Thune, directs billions of dollars a year to support rural communities by providing economic assurances and stability.

Senator Thune had a strong hand in ensuring the final bill provides full, robust funding for conservation programs that are vitally important to South Dakota, like the Conservation Reserve Program which he worked tirelessly with Senator Rounds to expand. All told, the new Farm Bill keeps over 24 million acres of private land in conservation and allocates more than $2.9 billion annually for conservation practices on additional millions of acres.  
All of these policies are smart conservation, but they’re also smart economics. States across the nation envy South Dakota’s pheasant, duck, and deer populations. While not as large as agriculture, outdoor recreation is a large and growing part of our economy.
As a result of Senator Thune’s commitment to agriculture and collaborative conservation, our farmers will be more productive, our soils will be healthier, our streams and wetlands will be cleaner, and our wildlife will be more abundant.  Senator Thune is demonstrating that South Dakota common-sense can still prevail. And South Dakota’s hunters, anglers, farmers and rancher—and anyone that eats healthy local food—owe him our thanks.
Chris Hesla
Executive Director, South Dakota Wildlife Federation
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