Watertown, SD (Mitchell Now) — – Governor Larry Rhoden affirmed his commitment to South Dakota’s agricultural industry and discussed his decision to seek re-election during an address at the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee’s annual Farm Business Banquet on Thursday night. The event, held at the Watertown Event Center, celebrates the local farming community and raises funds for the Chamber Ag Committee Scholarship Program.

Rhoden, who was born and raised on a Western South Dakota ranch, used his time with the assembly of over 1,000 farmers and ranchers to stress the indispensable role of agriculture in the state’s economy…

“When I heard there was an opportunity to stop in Watertown and talk to 1,000 farmers and ranchers from this part of the state, count me in. Because obviously, I was born and raised on a ranch in western South Dakota ,so have a strong grounding in agriculture. One of the first jobs Christy assigned to me was interim secretary of agriculture back when about two years into our campaign and I think that’s important. In South Dakota, we know that ag is king, and it’s our number one industry, But I’ve said many times that that’s an understatement, because our ag industry outpaces our number two industry by like 6 times or 7 times.

A focus of the Governor’s remarks was a defense of the state’s current agricultural property tax system, pushing back against what he described as misinformed criticism within the legislature.

Rhoden highlighted his previous work in passing the agricultural production tax…

I just came from a meeting, we were talking about property taxes over at the theater with America for Prosperity, and I talked about the fact that there are people in legislature last year that were saying agriculture is getting a sweetheart deal on property taxes. Well, I just about blow my lid every time I heard it because they were taking a snapshot in time on the cycles of property taxes on ag. I was at the point of the spear in passing the ag production tax, And it took a lot of years, and we paid the price initially as those valuations went up and up and up.

He affirmed that the system has now matured into a “very viable, reasonable, supportable system” that he understands well due to his background.

He also connected the strength of the state’s agricultural community to its heritage, asking for a show of hands from those who could trace their ancestry back to a homesteader…

We take a lot of things for granted in South Dakota. South Dakota is a special place, and I’ve come to understand that, and I’ve come to believe that it’s because of our heritage and our culture, and out in the western part of the state, the country is pockmarked with old homestead sites. They talk about how tough the homesteaders were, Well, most of them weren’t. They didn’t make past first year, and they went back to where they came. It was only the toughest, the strongest, the most resilient that made it. He got a living in South Dakota as a home center, and they became the fabric and the foundation of what this state is made of.

The Farm Business Banquet is an annual cornerstone event for the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee, dedicated to strengthening connections and investing in the future of agriculture through its scholarship program. This year’s event featured entertainment from The David Malmberg Comedy Ventriloquist Show.