MITCHELL — While reflecting on the need to build her own network within the South Dakota agriculture industry, Rebecca Blue began to wonder if other women in ag were encountering the same challenge.    

Blue has an extensive agriculture career that’s taken her from her hometown of Huron to Washington, D.C., and Argentina. With an undergraduate degree in agronomy and a masters in soil sciences from South Dakota State University, Blue followed an opportunity to Washington where she continued her career in agriculture, trade and appropriations policy for eight years.    

She now divides her time between South Dakota and her husband’s native country, Argentina, while running her own agriculture consultancy, Blue Consulting. 

As Blue began reaching out to South Dakota women about their networks, what she discovered was eye-opening.

“When I shared the idea of creating a place to connect, learn and collaborate, it immediately resonated with them and energized me to take it to the next level and form something meaningful,” she recalled.

With a passion for moving her idea into something tangible, Blue used her personal savings to start a podcast, “The Best Job In South Dakota,” now wrapping up its third season. 

“I went out on my own and realized I was not alone. There were all these women going through the same thing,” she said. “Women in agriculture have been a pivotal part of my own career. They expose you to leadership and opportunities, helping you get to these new avenues you maybe didn’t see yourself getting to.”

Access to funding through networking  

Through the podcast, Blue continued to grow her network. 

Then one of her guests in Season 1, Rachel Lawton, served as what Blue calls “the spark” to take her ideas to the next level. Lawton is a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) urban conservationist for the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition.

“That’s when the bigger program started to develop,” recounts Blue. “Networking at its best — that interview with Rachel led me to have conversations with other people at NRCS and they said, ‘Hey we think we might know of a funding opportunity.’”

In addition to NRCS, Angela Ehlers, executive director of the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts (SDACD) was brought into the fold. 

Ehlers said she and Colette Kessler, assistant state conservationist for partnerships at NRCS, were having a conversation about what they could bring to the table. 

“USDA had some increased funding for reaching out to underserved or unserved populations,” Ehlers shared. 

Ehlers advised Blue that SDACD and the Jones County Conservation District wanted to apply to fund a project that would support increased engagement of women in agriculture and conservation through networking and educating.

“Rebecca brought a wealth of experience. She’s been out there interviewing women across the state and ruminating on what they’re saying, what their needs are,” Ehlers shared.

Significant award granted

In June, a Conservation Collaboration Cooperative Agreement for $1,173,682 was signed by NRCS, the Jones County Conservation District and the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts. The project team, led by Blue, includes Ehlers, Kessler and Darrel DuVall, state outreach coordinator for NRCS.

Work is underway to develop and implement a program to connect, engage and educate women in agriculture and conservation, empowering them to grow their networks, expand their opportunities and build collaboration. 

The proposal includes the formation of hubs staffed by managers in six regions across the state, within the vicinities of Sioux Falls, Brookings, Huron, Eagle Butte, White River and Spearfish. 

Bringing knowledge of opportunities in conservation is another key component of the project.

“A lot of organizations in the world care about agriculture, cropland, grasslands, habitat and water quality and their societal benefits,” Kessler said. “This project aims at connecting those rural people with some larger resources so they can make things happen in their local communities.” 

While NRCS provides science-based help for farmers and ranchers, conservation districts identify water, grassland or cropland projects and help producers organize and take on these projects.

“So many communities across the state and the nation are concerned about food security, food sovereignty, having fresh foods at the local level,” Kessler said. “There are ways that are not capital intensive that can help bring young people back to participate in agriculture and rebuild our communities.” 

Next steps 

The project team just announced an advisory committee to help with programming and ensure a variety of voices are heard: Kristi Cammack, assistant dean for West River operations for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at SDSU; Mike Jaspers, business development director of East River Cooperative and former South Dakota secretary of agriculture; Donita Fischer, owner of Wóyute and Native Nations Rebuilder with the Bush Foundation; Jamie Johnson, a Frankfort farmer/rancher and 2019 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award winner; Liv Stavick, executive director of the South Dakota Agri-Business Association; and Justine Rivard, Black Hills Federal Credit Union ag lender.

Dakotafest in Mitchell served as the initial project rollout. The team also plans a survey and focus groups. 

Ehlers and Blue said if the team members find a statewide issue that needs to be addressed, they will focus efforts there. 

“I’m hopeful our first successes will guide the project and bring forward what we need to be doing to serve women across the state,” Ehlers said. “We have an idea. Until we put it on the ground we won’t know exactly what it will look like.” 

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they're published. Contact Kristi Hine at info@sdnewswatch.org. Hine owns and publishes the True Dakotan newspaper in Wessington Springs and serves on the SDNW board of directors.