South Dakota
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South Dakota Farmers
- South Dakota Department of Ag
- South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service
- South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council
- South Dakota Beef Industry Council
- Midwest Dairy Association
- South Dakota Pork Producers Council
- South Dakota Wheat Commission
- South Dakota Corn Utilization Council
Learn More about South Dakota Agriculture
- South Dakota Cattleman's Association
- South Dakota Poultry Industries Association
- South Dakota Farm Bureau
- South Dakota Ag in the Classroom
South Dakota Farmers
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South Dakota Corn Farmer
“I love the farm because of all the challenges and the different opportunities every day.”
Kurt StiefvaterCorn Farmer
Name: Kurt Stiefvater
Location: Salem, South Dakota
Years farming: I have farmed for 27 years.
My family: My wife Kathy teaches 3rd and 4th graders at Salem St. Mary's Catholic school. We have three daughters. Our oldest is Lauren, who is a second grader and is 7½ years old. Megan is next – a first grader and is 6 years old. Karlie is the youngest, starting pre-school this fall, and is 3½.
How I came to be a farmer: I was raised on the family farm and started caring for livestock when I was about six years old. I loved to ride in the tractor with my dad. The virtue of my parents teaching me the accomplishments of hard work and doing what is best for the animals and the land is a great personal reward.
The best thing about being a farmer: I love the connection with the earth. I plant seeds in the spring and harvest in the fall. The animals that you feed and care for throughout the year give you the next generation of animals to grow with your family. The challenges of Mother Nature and having to factor her into your daily plans makes each day a new experience. The long days of work and seeing the sunrise turn into stars before you end your day offers a sense of accomplishment not set by a clock.
My personal philosophy on farming: I would like to improve the land and make it more productive so when the next person is blessed with the use of it, it may provide for them financially and productively. All of this with the understanding that what I do now can have a long term impact, good and bad. I like to try new farming techniques and be innovative with limited resources.
Corn Production in South Dakota and the United States
- More than 11,000 South Dakota farms grow corn.
- The average farm in South Dakota is approximately 1,400 acres.
- There are 4.75 million acres of corn in the state.
- Only five other U.S. states produce more corn than South Dakota.
- Farmers in South Dakota produced 585 million bushels of corn in 2008.
- 27% of South Dakota cash receipts came from corn in 2008.
- Eighty-nine million bushels of South Dakota corn, 15% of the total crop, was fed to livestock.
- The sweet corn enjoyed on the cob every summer or from a can from the grocery store represents only about one percent of the total crop in South Dakota. The rest is “field corn” which has an amazingly wide variety of uses.
- Around 4,000 items in a typical grocery store contain corn ingredients and that doesn’t count the milk, eggs, meat and poultry that come from corn-fed animals.
- A single bushel of corn yields 2.8 gallons of ethanol – an environmentally friendly, renewable fuel.
- There are 14 ethanol plants in South Dakota producing more than 1 billion gallons per year – 8.5% of the nation’s ethanol supply!
- Every barrel of American-made ethanol produced directly displaces 1.2 barrels of crude oil.
- South Dakota corn farmers use conservation tillage practices that reduce soil erosion, fuel usage, and carbon emissions.
- Corn can be traced back to Mexican or Central American cultures as early as 3400 B.C.
- The average corn stalk is about 8 feet tall and the cob houses around 800 kernels.
For more information about corn farming in South Dakota, please visit http://www.sdcorn.org.
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