HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1008

        A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Recognizing the week of June 25 through June 29, 2012, as Ag Week in South Dakota.

    WHEREAS, each year, one South Dakota producer raises enough food to feed 155 people in the United States and abroad; and

    WHEREAS, South Dakota consistently ranks in the top ten for production of alfalfa, sunflowers, oats, flaxseed, hay, ethanol, wheat, corn, and soybeans; and

    WHEREAS, South Dakota's agriculture industry has a twenty billion dollar economic impact each year. With more than 19 million acres of cropland and 23 million acres of pastureland, our farmers and ranchers are key drivers of our economy; and

    WHEREAS, agriculture generates twenty percent of our state's economic activity, and production agriculture and its value-added industries employ over 80,000 South Dakotans; and

    WHEREAS, South Dakota has more than 92,000 dairy cows, producing over 1.8 billion pounds of milk per year; and

    WHEREAS, there are fifteen ethanol plants operating in the state, and they produce more than one billion gallons per year, which is ten percent of the nation's ethanol supply; and

    WHEREAS, as a leading livestock state, South Dakota ranks near the top in several production areas including bison, pheasants, honey, sheep and lambs, cattle and calves, hogs and pigs; and

    WHEREAS, there are 46,000 producers in South Dakota on 31,800 farms; and

    WHEREAS, pheasant hunters spent $231 million in 2010 and harvested 1.8 million birds; and

    WHEREAS, South Dakota's forest industry included 511 million trees in forestland and eighteen wood or paper manufacturing facilities. Forestry in South Dakota employs over 3,500 people; and

    WHEREAS, South Dakota wineries have produced over 2.3 million bottles of wine since1997; and

    WHEREAS, agriculture is the life-blood of South Dakota. It is our number one industry and remains the common thread linking the citizens, businesses, and communities of our state:

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-seventh Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the week of

June 25 through June 29, 2012, be recognized as Ag Week in South Dakota to encourage public awareness, appreciation, and support for those involved in the agriculture industry, and to recognize the economic, social, and recreational importance of agriculture to the entire state.

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Adopted by the House of Representatives,

Concurred in by the Senate,

Val Rausch Speaker of the House	Karen Gerdes Chief Clerk of the House
Matt Michels President of the Senate	Fee Jacobsen Secretary of the Senate