Yankton County said no thanks to this latest intrusion on the free market, but the South Dakota Department of Agriculture has found enough other interested counties to launch its site analysis program:
This program is designed to help counties plan for the future by providing local officials with resource-based information to assist them in making well-informed decisions. Site analyses include information on local zoning ordinances, permitting requirements and the availability of infrastructure.
“With agriculture consistently investing in rural South Dakota, the need for information related to economic development opportunities has never been greater,” said Lucas Lentsch, South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture. “We’re pleased to offer this program to help counties identify the right opportunities, in the most effective locations” [South Dakota Department of Agriculture, press release, 2013.07.25].
It sounds like Secretary Lentsch is saying he'll send someone from Pierre out to tell you what your own county regulations are and what resources you have built in your backyard. If Democrats proposed something like this, Republicans would be laughing their seed caps off, right?
The county site analysis process features a broad overview of locations that could host a variety of economic development projects, including manufacturing, commodity processing and livestock-related enterprises.
“Because South Dakota’s ag industry is so vast, there are a wide range of opportunities,” said Paul Kostboth, SDDA’s Director of Ag Development. “By undertaking a detailed analysis of the possibilities available within an individual county, local governments can better consider which types of investments best fit their long-term goals” [SDDoA, 2013.07.25].
Essentially, the state is assuming some of the cost of doing market research for the agriculture industry. How generous.
And of course, Pierre has an excellent track record of picking winners in the market place.
In related news, state-backed Northern Beef Packers has its first hearing in bankruptcy court this morning at 9 a.m. in Sioux Falls.
You have just scratched the surface. The implications are far reaching. Keep looking.
Ask Big Stone Township, Grant County, and Moody county people what they think of this. These studies do NOT take into account neighbors, pollution, odor control, property values, or the actual economic impact of such facilities, especially hog farms. I'm as pro-economic development as one can get; but promoting and using our tax dollars to find locations for facilities that may not be wanted is just not right.