Rural scenes from fall 2020
South Dakota
Heading into the Storm
Looking back through my phone’s photos recently and I grabbed ahold of this one. It was taken Nov. 1, 2018 and we had just brought our heifers home from summer pasture and given them their needed vet check-ups. We got done just in time to turn them back into fresh pasture and get them settled […]
The Write Stuff: Mother Daughter Day
Note* Open to mothers with daughters ages 11-14 — Need a mother-daughter day to reconnect and just have fun? On April 21, 2018, will be the Write Stuff: Mother & Daughter Day hosted by Codi Mills. This one-day event will offer a chance for moms and daughters to connect with fun writing, music, and craft type projects. […]
Small town newspaper: It’s about the people
There is nothing left of the small town South Dakota newspapers that I began my journalism career with. The last two closed last month. The news saddened me greatly as every community needs a newspaper. There needs to be a place to celebrate births, weddings, homecomings, and happenings. There also needs to be a place […]
To the Weekend Warriors
Rain showers are drizzling down my office window. The countryside is turning green. Brandings and turnout dates are filling up the family calendar. Spring is here. My family has freeze branded replacement heifers, is wrapping up calving and is just starting to put tractors in the fields. I reflected back recently on the time my […]
Who will the farm go to?
There was a fair bit of windshield time for me this June as I looped through the state. I attended Faulkton’s Women’s Ag Day, the SD Governor’s Ag Summit and planning sessions with the South Dakota Women in Ag group in which I am a part of. Intermingled with those events, there has been windshield time […]
A South Dakota couple promotes beef, gains marketing insight
By Codi Vallery-Mills For most of us, going to the local grocery store for a few hours isn’t our idea of leisurely weekend entertainment, but for customers of Stew Leonard’s grocery it is. A retail grocery store chain in Connecticut and New York, Stew Leonard’s has pushed food marketing to the next level. The chain […]
Wistful About Wagons
Hansen Wheel and Wagon shop recreates the wagons of the American West By Codi Vallery-Mills We have all seen the old western movies where outlaws try to heist a stagecoach. A gunfight ensues, horses are encouraged to run faster and some high collared city gal succumbs to the excitement and faints. Many of us don’t […]
South Dakota ranchers look to Mob Grazing
In 2009 I had the opportunity to visit with nearby ranchers Pat and MaryLou Guptill. The couple is very aware that their land is the key to their cowherd’s success and ultimately the success of being able to bring back the next generation of ranchers. Because of this, they have looked to building better soil […]