Growing Agriculture and Supporting Landowner Rights
Agriculture is the #1 industry and life-blood of our state. I’ll continue to champion our farmers and ranchers as long as I’m in the legislature, including: 
- Eliminating burdensome regulations and bureaucracies;
- Supporting production and use of biofuels;
- Expanding value-added agriculture efforts;
- Supporting agricultural research;
- Promoting natural resources conservation;
- And increasing investment in transportation infrastructure.
Landowner Rights and the CO2 Pipelines
Eminent domain was established to benefit the public. Using eminent domain for private gain is wrong. The land belongs to the landowner. Just because a company wants the land and just because its offering up money doesn’t mean the owner has to accept. The owner should always retain the right to say no. You can’t force people to do something just so a company can make money. That's not right.
We want companies to come to South Dakota. We want them to grow. And we want to be friendly to business. But we need to play fair. I support legislation that better protects a landowner’s property rights.
I have delivered on my promise to support agriculture.-
Co-chaired committee with Sen. Wiik to appropriate $6,250,000 to rehabilitate the rail line from Milbank to Sisseton. (SB16, 2023)
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Supported elimination of outdated pork production regulations. Supported new provisions that subject pork producers to the same standards which apply to livestock feeding, breeding stock, dairies, and poultry and egg operations (SB98).
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Supported sales and use tax exemptions for farm machinery and farm vehicles (HB 1018).
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Supported exemption of all sales and use tax for repairs of farm machinery, attachment units, and irrigation equipment used for agricultural purposes (HB 1019).
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Supported roads and bridges funding package to assure a strong state infrastructure and safety (SB1).
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Supported funding to SDSU for a soil productivity study to update methods used to determine agricultural land production capacity (HB 1007).
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Supported HB1085 to redefine the criteria for classifying land as agricultural for tax purposes.
- Supported HB1055 to remove restrictions on gifts of agricultural land.
- Supported HB1042 to revise provisions regarding riparian buffer strips.
- Supported construction of a livestock and equestrian complex at the State Fair.
