Volume XCVII, NO. 9
Huron, SD
November 2014
South Dakota
Union Farmer A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION Getting to Know Board Member Chad Johnson
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9th Annual A Night on the Prairie
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USDA Handles Country-of-Origin-Labeling Ruling National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson said that the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) recent ruling on Countryof-Origin Labeling (COOL) clearly shows U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is headed in the right direction. “This ruling demonstrates the legitimate nature of the COOL objective and finds that the current labeling rule is an improvement over the original rule, but it remains unbalanced between consumer information and production costs,” said Johnson. “This decision, as it has been issued, will likely be modified on appeal and NFU strongly urges the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to appeal the ruling.” Johnson moderated the panel discussion, and also joined by Danni Beer, president of U.S. Cattleman’s Association, Patrick Woodall, research director at Food & Water Watch, and Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, to discuss the details and implications of the WTO ruling. On Monday, the WTO released the long-awaited, 200-plus page ruling that found the regulatory goal of COOL was WTO-compliant, and that the new 2013 labels provided better, more accurate information for consumers. “The ruling gives USDA and USTR the opportunity to redefine the rule without the need for see COOL on page 16
Family Farmers – Feeding the World 99th Annual South Dakota Farmers Union State Convention November 20-21, 2014 to be held in Aberdeen, South Dakota
To learn more about SDFU State Convention, turn to page 6.
Ethanol Celebrated with Yellow Dime Days
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South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates South Dakota Farm & Ranch Families
Eckmann Farms (L to R) Marvin Eckmann, Scot Eckmann, Colton Eckmann and Rick Eckmann.
To join with the United Nations in celebrating the International Year of Family Farming, South Dakota Farmers Union will highlight a South Dakota farm or ranch family each month.This month South Dakota Farmers Union features the Eckmann family who farms near Cavour, S.D. Like many South Dakota farm families, the Eckmanns raise corn, soybeans and cattle. And, like many of their peers, brothers Rick and Scot own separate farming operations but share labor and equipment. What makes this family’s farm story unique is the fact that while Scot manages his farm conventionally, Rick’s operation is all-natural. While Rick applies commercial fertilizer and herbicides to his fields, he also applies many natural, soil building products and raises GMO-free crops. He finishes all his own cattle, feeding them the GMO-free grains and forages he raises, and he maintains a drug-free/hormone-free herd. Some may think this difference in management styles would impact the brothers’ relationship or alter their ability to work together, but it doesn’t. “We talk about what we each do on our own farms, but it’s not an issue. Even though our farming practices are different, we face many of the same challenges – looking for ways to make it in a year like this when input costs are high and commodity prices are down,” Scot explains. “We’ve worked together for more than 35 years. I don’t know what we’d do without each other’s help. We are both valuable and play an integral role to each other’s farming operations,” Rick says. Their dad, Marvin, 82, also helps out the fourth-generation farmers, as does Rick’s son, Colton, 26, who also works full-time off the farm as a diesel mechanic for James River Equipment in Huron. see Farming Today on page 9