Farmers Union members oppose department merger

CONDE, S.D. (WNAX) – South Dakota Farmers Union members at their recent convention approved several policy issues. President Doug Sombke says their members overwhelmingly oppose the proposal by the Governor to merge the State Departments of Agriculture and Environment and Natural Resources.

He says they’ll be pushing state lawmakers to vote against merging those departments.

Sombke says their most heavily debated resolution led to their group supporting the call for a national beef checkoff referendum.

The 100 members attending their virtual convention also approved six other resolutions they’ll work on for policy for 2021.