CRP rental rates improved, sign up deadlines announced drgnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from drgnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Agriculture, Natural Resources departments officially merge
April 20, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) South Dakota’s Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources have been officially combined despite some concerns by farmers, environmentalists and lawmakers.
Gov. Kristi Noem has cited overlap and the need for streamlining the agencies which become one as the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Noem has actually been working on combining the departments over the past nine months. Former Natural Resources Secretary Hunter Roberts leads the combine agencies.
Some state lawmakers expressed concern that combining the two major departments would lead to more big government and put environmental concerns on the back burner, the Argus Leader reported. Some also say that agriculture, as the state’s No. 1 industry, deserves its own department.