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 Livestock |
Beef
Some of the finest beef in the world originates on South Dakota farms and ranches. Cattle production is the biggest single segment of agriculture in South Dakota. Many beef cattle and calves are raised on ranches in western South Dakota. Most beef cattle are "crossbred" — they are not one specific breed, but have more than one breed in their bloodline. Cattle herds will total approximately three-and-one-half million head each year before spring calving. Years of high demand have seen herds total as many as five million head in South Dakota.
Calves are generally weaned in the fall and sent to a feedlot for "finishing" — a period where they are fed a ration of grain to make them ready for processing to steaks, roasts, and other beef cuts. While some calves are sent to feedlots across South Dakota, many are sent to feedlots located outside the state. South Dakota is home of the nation's largest livestock terminal. The Sioux Falls Stockyards were established in 1917. Today, nearly a half a million head pass through this terminal on an annual basis. Along with cattle, sheep and hogs are also sold here.
Pork
South Dakota produces over one million hogs a year. The most common breeds raised in South Dakota are Yorkshire, Hampshire, Duroc, and Chester White.
Sows typically farrow (have baby pigs) two times a year, in spring and fall, with litters of seven to eight piglets. most hogs are raised on family farms in the eastern part of the state. Some are raised in "farrow to finish" operations which means the pits are born, raised, and fed to slaughter weight all within the same facility. Farrow-to-farrow managers are very diligent in keeping their facilities clean, to protect pigs against possible diseases. Hogs are slaughtered when they weight between 240 to 260 pounds. They are then processed into ham, pork chops, bacon and many by-products, including pharmaceuticals used for human health.
Sheep and Wool
The nation's largest shipping point for fine wool is located at Belle Fourche in western South Dakota. Sheep are noted for providing two crops — the lambs and the wool. East of the Missouri River sheep are raised mainly for meat, while west of the river sheep are raised for both meat and wool.
The number one wool breed in South Dakota is the Rambouillet, followed by the Targhee and Columbia. The rambouillet is a large, rugged, fast grown sheep which adapts well to a variety of climatic and forage conditions and produces an excellent quality, fine wool fleece. Each sheep produces about nine pounds of wool per year. The number one meat breed in the state is the Suffolk which has an excellent growth rate and high quality meat.
Poultry
Chickens, geese, and turkeys, in the millions, are grown in South Dakota. Young chickens which produce eggs are called pullets and older egg-layers are hens, while chickens raised for meat are broilers. South Dakota has about one-and-one half million laying chickens, with each producing about 250 eggs a year. More than two million turkeys are raised for meat each year in this state.
Dairy
Dairy herds in South Dakota have totaled more than 125,000 cows annually in recent years. That number is considerably lower than it was decades ago, but milk production per cow — more than 12,000 pounds a year — is far higher.
The Holstein breed is the most common dairy cow. South Dakota cheese processors produce about 150 million pounds of American, cheddar, colby, jack, and other types of cheeses each year.
Honey: With more than 200,000 honeybee colonies, South Dakota is one of the nation's top honey states, producing about 30 million pounds a year. Hone from South Dakota is a highly desirable, mild-flavored and light-colored alfalfa-sweetclover blend. Honeybees are also useful as pollinators. In most areas of South Dakota there is at least one bee yard within flight range of any field crop.
Bison
Is it buffalo or bison? Well, it just depends who you talk to. While most of us know these shaggy creatures by the name buffalo, their scientific name is bison. So, either name is correct. They belong to the same family as domestic cattle. The buffalo name probably came about because explorers who came to North America thought the bison resembled the water buffalo. They called the bison buffalo and the name stuck. It is estimated that in the mid-1800s there were 60 million buffalo in North America. They were natural nomads, wandering from Canada to Mexico, preferring the Northern Plains. They were the lifeline of the Native Americans tribes of the plains. They provided food, shelter, clothing and spiritual worship. For the Native Americans, the bison were everything they needed. Every part of this revered animal was used in some fashion. There was no waste.
During the same time period, bison were being senselessly slaughtered for their hides, tongues or just for sport. The meat was left to rot in the sun. Fur traders shipped countless buffalo robes to Europe. Nearly 200,000 bison were killed annually between 1830-1860. Bison were also killed to prevent them from stopping trains as they crossed the plains. The extent of the slaughter became known in 1966 by a zoologist, William T Hornaday, who went in search of plains bison for the National Museum in Washington, DC. He collected only 25 bison in what we know today as Montana, where a few years earlier, there had been tens of thousands of bison. Estimated bison number as this time were 300-500 animals.
Today, there are over 200,000 animals. The government still maintains a small percentage of the animals. 90% of the bison in the Unite States are in privately owned herds. South Dakota has over 40,000 bison on 200 plus ranches in the state; making them the number 1 producing state in the USA. There is a large herd in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota, as well many privately owned herds across the western half of the state.
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Forestry & Environment
Ranking — 2007 USDA/NASS Report
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