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Woman delivering a bag food donations to a food bank manager.

Product Donations for Food Manufacturers

Interested in donating some of your slightly flawed food products to a food drive? View some food safety tips and donation considerations for food manufacturers in South Dakota.

Young couple discussing a concern with a distressed small business team member.

How To Get Fired by Your Constituents

For both business and community leaders, one thing is true – without customers, you don't have a job. Examine some common reasons for losing loyalty among community constituents.

Group of children eating school lunch in a cafeteria.

Farm to (More Than) School

Opportunities for local food procurement go beyond just school lunch! Learn about several child nutrition programs and settings that may accept local foods.

financial paperwork sitting on a desk

Financial Record Keeping Software: A comparison of Quicken and QuickBooks

As fall nears many producers are beginning to gather their records to prepare for taxes. From these records many important operating decisions are made. Agriculture producers often use computer software to keep financial records. While there are software packages tailored for farm and ranch businesses, many producers successfully use general commercial software such as Quicken® or QuickBooks®. Both products can be useful for an agricultural producer’s record keeping. The question which often arises from producers is, “which one do I need”?

Two female vendors serving a young girl and boy at a vendor stall at a farmers market.

Decisions for Farmers Market Setup and Operation

Farmers markets are unique because they represent multiple, individual vendors under a single name, location and organizational identity. Before the first selling day, a farmers market will need to do many of the things that each vendor does for their farm. For example, selecting a name and creating a logo for the market.

Color-coded map of South Dakota and other Midwestern states. Colors indicate a higher risk of unplanted areas in Eastern and Northeastern South Dakota.

Stretching Corn Silage Supplies

During the 2002 drought there was a need to stretch corn silage supplies as a result of the drought that affected the U.S. Now we deal with the opposite scenario, where excessive spring rains have not allowed farmers to get to the fields. In both situations livestock producers face challenges.

freshly harvested leafy greens

Best Practices When Harvesting Leafy Greens for Market and Home

The harvesting of leafy greens to maintain quality and safety focuses on the key risk factors from the time harvest begins to selling at market. The food safety risk factors involve temperature, time, water, worker hygienic practices, and food contact surfaces.

A combine harvesting soybeans at dusk.

Field Studies: Blowing the Whistle on Marketing Claims

With technology surrounding today’s culture, data and marketing information has become a key part of life. The best way to determine if a product or practice is effective is to ask for the data and research backing a company’s claims. However, before a producer makes a decision, understanding the data and statistics is key.

A woman rinsing vegetables off in an outdoor sink.

Food Safety Rules for Fruit & Vegetable Growers: FAQ

It seems rules and guidelines for growing fresh produce safely are constantly changing, as new laws and regulations are implemented each year.

Vern Hanson, Faulkton Health Care System Board Member

Funding Community Projects: Keeping Healthcare in Your Community

Faulkton’s hospital was getting old. Something had to be done or it would be lost.