On April 19, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources will combine to form one department. The South Dakota Farm Bureau is supportive of the merger. “This streamlines saving money and tries to consolidate visits to farms and they’ve already started cross-training inspectors,” said Scott VanderWal, president, South Dakota Farm Bureau. “They’ve incorporated the feedlot permit program and the ag inspection programs. That’s one of the things we’ve talked about a lot and we think they’ll meet the goals they’re setting as part of the merger.”
