South Dakota
VOLUME XCVII, NO. 10
HURON, SD
JANUARY 2015
UNION FARMER A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION Issues to Consider
Pages 1&4
Issues Farmers Union Members Should Consider for the 2015 Legislative Session
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s an initial preview, SDFU has selected two issues to highlight ahead of the 2015 Legislative session. These issues will most likely be introduced as legislation during the upcoming session. SDFU’s current policy is printed below each issue. Be sure to contact your Farmers Union county leadership and board members to share your thoughts on these issues. Issue 1: Infrastructure Funding Anyone who drives on a county or township road can tell you that South Dakota roads and bridges are in serious need of attention. In order to fund improvements to the state’s infrastructure, a committee made up of members from both the House and Senate suggested a number of mechanisms in the form of a comprehensive revenue bill. These include: a 1% increase in the vehicle excise tax, a 10% increase in vehicle license plate fees, a 2 cent per year increase in the ethanol tax, a yearly increase in the motor fuel tax, a wholesale tax on gasoline, a new 7 cent tax on dyed diesel fuel, registering certain vehicles used for agricultural purposes as commercial vehicles, an increase in potential wheel tax revenue and a tax on hybrid and electric vehicles. Continued on Page 4
Mark Your Calendars for 2015 Farmers Union Legislative Day at the Capitol Tuesday, February 3, 2015 Farmers Union members are invited to travel to Pierre to participate in our annual Farmers Union Legislative Day at the Capitol. Time: 9:30 a.m. CST Location: Meet at the South Dakota Education Association building (411 East Capitol, Pierre SD 57501.) R.S.V.P. Requested: Please contact Legislative Director, Matt Sibley, to let him know that you’ll be attending Legislative Day. Call him at 605-350-8410 or msibley@sdfu.org.
SDFU Celebrates SD Farm and Ranch Families
Scholarship Winners
Pages 1 & 8
Page 6
South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates Farm & Ranch Families Celebrating a century of service to South Dakota’s farm and ranch families, throughout 2015, South Dakota Farmers Union will highlight a South Dakota farm or ranch family each month. In January, South Dakota Farmers Union features the Kippley family who farms near Aberdeen.
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ike all business owners, farmers are always crunching numbers, so the fact that John Kippley, 69, and his son, Jeff, 35, both have accounting degrees works well for the Aberdeen farmers. “The two go handin-hand because you’re always trying to figure out what crop to plant based on cash flow,” John explains. The oldest of eight boys, John grew up on a diversified farm in Iowa. Because his family’s farm could not support more than one family, his parents encouraged him and his Jeff & Rachel Kippley with their children: younger brothers to find Noah, 7; Titus, 6; Aaron, 2; and Moriah, 9 careers off the farm right months. after high school. However, this didn’t detour John from dreaming of someday owning a farm of his own. He attended a two-year business school in Sioux Falls and graduated with a degree in tax preparation. In 1975, only five years after H&R Block sent John and his wife, Geraldine, to open an office in Aberdeen, he purchased his first 40 acres of land. A few years later Jeff was born. “I never knew life without the farm,” explains the second generation farmer, who followed a very similar career path to his father. Today, Jeff and his wife, Rachel, own the H&R Block and farm with John, who operates Kippley Tax Service. To learn more about the Kippley’s operation, turn to page 8. By Lura Roti, for South Dakota Farmers Union; Photos by Kaylee Speck Photography, Faulkton