Pancake Breakfast and More Planned for March 19 – Ag Day

Milbank’s Ag Appreciation Day is March 19. The Milbank Area Chamber Agriculture Committee has a bushel basket of events planned, including the traditional pancake breakfast, during its annual celebration.  Proceeds help support the MACC agriculture scholarships. Applicants are reminded the deadline to apply for this year’s scholarships is Friday, March 29. 

Jamie Hendrickson, executive director of the Milbank Area Chamber, says, ““This event is part of National Ag Day, and we are excited to have the opportunity to gather with our local ag community and show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication.”

AG APPRECIATION DAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
7:30-10 a.m.
Pancake Feed  – Served  by the Milbank FFA – Free will Donation 

7:30-11:30 a.m.

• Vendor Booths
•  Raffle – Need not be present to win
•  South Dakota Farmers Union Farm Safety Trailer
• ATV simulator
• Grain Bin Harness
• PTO Safety

10 a.m.
Speaker: Warren Rusche, Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Feedlot Specialist
Topic: Value in Livestock Production and How It Affects Crop Farming
Warren currently serves as an assistant professor – extension beef feedlot management specialist at South Dakota State University. Warren will share the reasons why he believes that retaining more calves in our state is good for rural economies and small towns, what some of the barriers are to achieving that outcome, and what his team is doing to address those challenges.

His primary research and outreach interests center on integration of crop production with livestock and mitigation of environmental stressors. Prior to his current role, he served as a cow/calf field specialist based in Watertown and was the co-manager of his family’s cow calf and cattle feeding business in Kingsbury County‌.

10:45 a.m.
Speaker: David Kruger, Board Member of the SD Soul Health Coalition/Grant County Farmer
Topic: Cover Crops, Carbon & Soil Health
Every farm magazine you pick up talks about cover crops and carbon. David Kruger, a board member of the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition, farms 10 miles west of Milbank and has been storing carbon since 1993 and using cover crops since 2010. He will share some of the struggles along with the benefits he has seen in his soil health journey.