Montrose Shows Potential for Local Food Renaissance

Regional neighbor Joe Bartmann sees hope for his hometown of Montrose and similar small burgs in feeding the world. No, not that nutty industrial monoculture model where corporate drones in giant machines produce government-subsidized commodities to load unto ships, ship overseas, glut foreign markets, and drive their independent local farmers off the land just like ours. Bartmann sees his Montrose neighbors producing real food for real people right here in South Dakota. On a trip to the Montrose suburbs, Bartmann finds goose, veggies, beef, and honey produced in his immediate neighborhood.

Maybe we can be the Hardwick, VT of South Dakota one day (read “How Food Saved a Town“). Local Foods is the real deal (just ask Mike), and it’s a serious opportunity for us in small towns–to feed surrounding communities, to live healthier lives, and to re-connect with this land and it’s [sic] bounty in new-old sacred ways [Joe Bartmann, "Montrose, South Dakota: Local Foods Mecca," bartblog, 2010.06.27].

The strongest, most lasting economic development we can generate is business owned and operated by local people, using locally available resources to produce locally consumable goods and services. Local foods don't require expensive government subsidies to attract fickle investors who have no interest in South Dakota beyond the hope of exploiting our tax and labor laws and inflating their profits. Local foods don't depend on far-flung buyers and suppliers. Local foods keep the dollar cycle entirely in South Dakota.

And best of all, local foods make more local families and producers the captains of their own destiny, making their living on the land they love.

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Update 11:00 CDT: Editor and legislator Bernie Hunhoff notes that the growth of the local foods movement depends in part on the government regulations that promote or throttle it. Hunhoff cites the upcoming labeling rules for farmers market vendors to be discussed at a Legislative Rules Committee meeting next month. These rules arise from the really important HB 1222, which Hunhoff and his Pierre associates enacted into law this year.

Perhaps related to another of this morning's posts: is there something funny going on when our Legislature works to ensure that proper labeling and safety regulations are maintained for South Dakota-made food but votes to strip all federal regulation from South Dakota-made firearms? I feel a guns-or-butter argument coming on....

Marching in Madison: South Dakota Bands at DSU Homecoming Parade

It's a busy band day in South Dakota! Area bands, led by the mighty Spirit of Madison Marching Band, kicked off a big day of music by marching up Madison's Main Street in the Dakota State University Trojan Days homecoming parade.

Madison Bulldogs


Chester Flyers


Arlington Cardinals


Flandreau Public Fliers (thanks, Matt!)


Deuel Cardinals


Madison Middle School

Director Luke Sursely has these kids whipped into shape!

Montrose Irish

Director Justin Whitcomb is a Madison band alumnus. Looking sharp!

Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinals

The Dell Rapids corps was marching right behind the Dennis Daugaard for Governor campaign vehicle, the only political entrant in today's parade. The Munsterman campaign must have been too busy making up better ad hominem attacks. Isn't there some old campaign saw about catching more votes throwing candy than throwing mud?

Oldham-Ramona-Rutland Raiders

We've been waiting for some cowbell! (Sorry about the battery, kids!)

Howard Tigers

Backyard Notes: CAFOs, Pipelines, Wind, Mowing

Can't call the Madville Times a NIMBY rag: we're all about what's going on in our backyards:

More Big Stinky Dairy Business Coming: An e-mail correspondent informs us that Riverview Farms of Morris, Minnesota, wants to build a 5,000-head concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)... you know, like the operation that is stinking people out of house and home up by Thief River Falls. 5,000 cows (plus 4,000 heifers, say opponents) crowded onto 160 acres upstream from the wellheads of Milbank's water supply -- what could go wrong there? Opponents say CAFOs lower property values, hire few if any local workers, and increase costs for the county with heavy truck traffic tearing up county roads.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Agriculture* Bill Even brags that South Dakota is great for the dairy business... great, contends my correspondent, as long as you aren't a small independent farmer trying to make it with a reasonable number of cattle spread out on enough land to sustain them. Great also, it appears from Secretary Even's website, as long as you plan to hire foreign workers: "Immigration" is the second link from the top of the sidebar. (No English required to work here, says the website -- how tolerant.)

Oil Pipelines A-Comin': Another landowner, James Bush up by Britton, has settled with TransCanada out of court. Pipeline should be coming soon to backyards in the Jim River Valley. TransCanada is also making the rounds out in West River to get folks ready for an even bigger pipeline. Folks at the informational meetings TransCanada has held in Buffalo, Faith, and Philip sound pretty keen on running 900,000 barrels a day of the dirtiest oil in the world through their backyards. Haakon County Commissioner Neal "Obie" Brunskill says the pipeline sounds like a "good deal... if things work out like they're saying."

Just remember, Obie: when something does go wrong with the pipeline, Big Oil's strategy is to offer little to nothing in compensation, then fight you in court until many of the people affected are broke or dead. It works for Exxon; it'll work for TransCanada.

Pine Ridge Radio Prefers Self-Sufficiency: Meanwhile, our Indian neighbors take the do-it-yourself approach to energy. KILI Radio just got the first large-scale wind turbine on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The 300-foot tower should save the radio station $12,000 a year in electric bills and maybe even bring them a little revenue as they sell excess power back to LaCreek Electric. And if they're getting the wind out in Porcupine that we're getting here at Lake Herman, KILI should sound extra loud today.

Joe Bartmann, Mowing Menace: Montrose blogger and visionary Joe Bartmann committed one of the cardinal sins of town living: he let some of his grass grow for three straight weeks. Funny thing is, no one complained. Joe found that letting the weeds grow taller actually made it easier to pull them out. The longer grass staved off the dandelions.

Joe reports that he usually mows long anyway, leaving it 3.5 to 4 inches long. "A little bit longer grass is better grass," says Joe: it has more leaf to catch the sun and dew, needs less chemicals, keeps the weeds down, and grows more evenly and slowly than crewcut lawns. Go figure!

Joe also reports first garden radishes of the season. Radish and butter sandwiches -- ah, the good life!

Enjoy your sandwich, Joe. And everybody -- get out and enjoy your backyard this weekend.

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Update 19:17: An alert reader catches my goof from this morning: Bill Even is the Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary of State Chris Nelson generally does not take official positions on feedlots and big dairy development.

The same alert reader offers his correction and more:

Bill Even is not Secretary of State, get your facts straight, he is Secretary of Agriculture.

You need to read and understand what is on the website before you start running your mouth. The immigration refers to farmers from other countries bringing their capitol here to make a living. Is that a bad thing? What is the problem with dairy farms, they produce milk that is processed in SD creating more jobs.

People like you need to move to CA or NY!!!!!

The reader apparently prefers foreign investors and immigrant labor to us locals. Sounds a lot like the dairy industry: they could make a lot more money if they just didn't have to put up with the people who actually live here.