May 12, 2026---10-11—SD Farmers Union Hour-----Business show 5200

   I’m Bill Zortman and welcome to our Monthly South Dakota Farmers Union Hour----a part of our It’s YOUR Business Show—and this is show 5,200----

 

  Tuesday’s are the days that we are proud to share---on the 2nd Tuesday of the Month—the South Dakota Farmers Union Show---on the 4th Tuesday of the Month---is the South Dakota Farm Bureau Show—always with agriculture information those in agriculture and those who know the importance of what agriculture does for them---will not miss.

 

  So this morning---the gentleman I always work with Rocky Forman has made the trip from Huron to Sioux Falls---having worked to put together the guests and the topics.

 

  Rocky –share with us who is in the show---and what our audience should expect to hear between now and 11:00---

 
Rob Larew—Farm Bill E-15---which is Investigation into the Packer industry—he of course National President of all Farmers Union organizations across this great land
Doug Sombke—is Long-time leader of the South Dakota Farmers Union----
We’ll hear from Brett Heezen---sharing planting update/what producers are watching out for as well
Farm Family are the Johnson’s---Brad and Amy
We’ll visit with Brad Duxbury---Wessington Springs FFA Instructor –talking about the QUIZ BOWL Winners—
As we always try to do ---we talk with South Dakota’s State Climatola-just---Laura Edwards---

 

   Doug if you will please introduce this segment—your team had lovingly ALL STUFF DC---National President Rob Larew is with us 

Doug---Rob----Rocky—Bill----

“””All Stuff DC””””

 

Past—Historical-Present-and What’s AHEAD-Farmers and Farmers Union-----

 

----when we come back---we’ll check the report card on what South Dakota Farmers Union Leader Doug Sombke sees—all listed under “Doug Stuff”

 

10:17/30—Commercial Break

10:19/00---SD Farmers Union –what is in your “Doug Stuff” Report

 

  We are in the midst of our monthly South Dakota Farmers Union Show—we just visited with the National President Rob Larew---and now long-time South Dakota Farmers Union Leader—Doug Sombke—

 

  Doug –good morning to you---on this May 12th---just where are our South Dakota Farmers Union farmers—where have they been---and how will you get them and their families where they need to go in 2026?

 

------------Doug-----------------Rocky Too!!!

   And---upcoming events—for South Dakota Farmers Union----

   In South Dakota---other stops and well-getting close to everywhere----------elected officials—what SD Farmers Union Needs---

 ---------what others in agriculture need and could get if they work together---

 

   ----coming up ---
A Planting Update—what producers should be watching out for
The Johnson’s—Brad and Amy Johnson
Brady Duxbury—Wessington Springs—FFA Instructor—Quiz Bowl Winners too---

 

   All following Fox mid-hour business news and yes real news---

 

10:28/00—Mid-Break Commercials/news

10:31/00---SD Farmers Union segment 3

   WELCOME BACK to our MAY—South Dakota Farmers Union Monthly show—

   We’ve already heard from National Farmers Union President Rob Larew—on the Farm Bill, E-15---and yes investigation into the Packers—OK-----yes all Stuff with DC Doings on it

South Dakota Long-time Farmers Union Leader—Doug Sombke—shared thoughts on DC—and happenings here in South Dakota----and yes what is ahead from thru summer---

 

-----one very important update Brett Heezen---is set to give us---is a PLANTING UPDATE----

 

Brett you have a state that has been planted—what do you want to share with us------

 

Yes what producers should be watching out for as well 

 

----Brett---Doug----Rocky---Bill-------------

 

Matt Swenson---morning Swenson Commodity update---

 

---------------Matt-----------------

    Just ahead-meet the Farm Family of the month---from Harding County---and later meet the Wessington Springs FFA Instructor—who led the Quiz Bowl Winners----

 

   This is the South Dakota Farmers Union Monthly report—all agriculture across South Dakota---

 

10:39/00---Farmers Union Commercials

10:41/00---Farmers Union Show segment 4

 What I’ve learned thru the years---you really can’t call it a monthly farm show—unless you have a Farm Family of the month-----

 

This month—from Harding County---Brad and Amy Johnson—

-----------Congratulations (Rocky Forman—joins and explains—and we interview the “Johnson’s”

 

How started their operation

How big—specializing---how long have been the operators

Crops and hopes in 2026----

 

South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates Harding County Ranch Family

 

By Lura Roti for South Dakota Farmers Union

 

Ask five-year Adley Johnson what she enjoys most about life on her family’s Harding County ranch and without hesitation the fifth-generation rancher says, “riding horses.”

 

Her favorite? A palomino named Custer.

 

Adley is the reason her dad, Brad, is happy he returned home after a more than a decade career as a professional steer wrestler.

 

“I enjoy it when Adley comes out and helps me. When we are tagging calves, she writes the tag number and date in the calving book,” Brad said.

 

Amy, Adley’s mom agrees. “We like having the girls with us when we are working. Sure things get done a bit slower and we have to revolve working cattle around nap time – either so they are sleeping or so they can help us – but we enjoy having our family together,” Amy said of Adley and 7-month-old Carty.

 

Like Brad, Amy grew up on a South Dakota ranch. In addition to raising cattle, her family trained horses on their place east of Hot Springs. Rodeo is also very much a part of her life.

 

“We are rodeo people. My dad was a World Champion Calf Roper and my mom was Miss Rodeo South Dakota,” Amy said. “I did everything – barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, breakaway and team roping – I did not know any other way. My dad always said rodeo will pay for college. And it did.”

 

Amy loved the competitiveness of rodeo and the sense of family.

 

Brad agreed. “I still have lots of friends from everywhere. Because of rodeo, I can be in nearly any state and call up a friend,” he said.

 

Like Amy, rodeo paid for Brad’s college tuition. He rodeoed for Eastern Wyoming and Gillette College and then hit the professional circuit until he decided to return to his family’s ranch fulltime in 2020.

 

“Amy and I got married in 2019 and we had Adley in 2021. My priorities became different.”

 

Today Brad and Amy remain connected to rodeo team roping together.

 

“We are both very competitive, so it is nice to be competitive together and push each other,” Amy said.

 

Amy works as the Executive Secretary for the South Dakota High School Rodeo Association and trains horses for her family. “Anytime I ride, it takes me back to home and family,” Amy said. “I love training horses for my daughters’ future riding and rodeo needs.”

 

As Brad and Amy visit, Adley draws a picture for her Grandma Laura and Grandpa Bill. Along with a fence, grass and trees, the picture includes a horse – probably Custer.

 

The family is sitting at Bill and Laura’s kitchen table enjoying a lunch of beef stew and rhubarb bars. Brad’s parents’ home sits just a few yards away from the original homesteader’s house.

 

“My grandma, Nina Klovdahl, homesteaded here around 1909,” Bill shared. “Grandpa, his name was JR Johnson, had homesteaded in Reeder, North Dakota and sent grandma here by wagon to homestead by herself. They were not married yet. She and her two sisters all came down here and homesteaded their own places. After she proved up her homestead, they got married and had five kids.”

 

Out loud Bill wonders what attracted Grandma Nina to homestead at this exact location. The Johnson Ranch sits in the middle of rolling hills of native rangeland with the scenic Slim Buttes off to the west.

The ranch is 10 miles from Reva, a one-stop-shop for local ranchers and travelers along South Dakota Highway 79 with a general store, feed store, gas station and post office all under one roof and owned by a local family.

 

Named after the daughter of its first settler, Reva Bonniwell, Reva is among the many unincorporated ranching communities that make up Harding County. A ranching community that is currently thriving thanks to young people like Brad returning home, explained Laura.

 

“Harding County is pretty unique in the fact that there are a lot of places like ours that have been here for generations. It is a big sense of pride, not only for our generation, but for the future,” explained Laura, who recently retired from a career teaching music education in rural schools in Perkins and Harding Counties. “Right now, Harding County School kindergarten class has 24 little people.”

 

When Brad returned home to ranch fulltime, Bill says letting his son take over the big decisions was not difficult. “I was plumb comfortable with stepping back because I think there are always two ways to do something and if two people are trying to figure out how to do something it just makes it complicated,” Bill said. “And the improvements that have come to the ranch since Brad came back are amazing – the fences, the buildings, the pipeline, the grazing rotation, the genetics.”

 

Brad is one of four children Bill and Laura raised on their ranch. His three sisters are Robin Zebroski, Keri Casteel and Katie Martin. “We are lucky to have 13 grandchildren that all live within a few hours,” Laura said. “It is so nice to have Adley and Carty so close. We see Adley every day. She calls me up and asks, “grandma are you home. I want to come over.”

 

Growing up, Bill’s family raised Hereford cattle. Today, it’s Black Angus. Nearly finished with Calving Season 2026, the family said it has gone well due to cooperative weather, in other words, no blizzards.

Over the last decade, the family has implemented a more intentional rotational grazing system. “Each year we start and end in different pastures. We move the cattle depending on how much moisture we have received and have a take half, leave half rule,” Bill explained.

 

Access to dependable water made rotating through more pastures possible. To accomplish this, the Johnsons worked with Natural Resources Conservation Service programs to dig wells and install miles of pipeline and fence.

 

“When I do something to benefit us today, I also do the work looking further down the road for our girls who are the fifth generation,” Brad said. “What makes our ranch better today, also make it better for tomorrow.”

 

To view more photos and a video of Brad and Amy, visit www.sdfu.org and click on the SD Farm and Ranch Families link under the About Us Tab.

 

When we come back---a visit with Brady Duxbury-Wessington Springs FFA instructor—Quiz Bowl Winners---605-350-5849

 

10:48/00—Farmers Union Quiz Bowl segment

10:50/00---Farmers Union segment 5

 

   This is our monthly South Dakota Farmers Union Show---something we have done for a decade or is it two---

 

   ---a key part is FFA—Quiz Bowl Winners Instructor

---Brady Duxbury—Wessington Springs----

 

----share with us the who-what-where-when-why and how for 2026---and how you built the winners---

-----------Brady----------

 

  What they did------how you put it together----and who was a part of the team----

  What did the team learn with their project---and how helpful is FFA to those in South Dakota whether they live in a town, a city, or a farm township---

---------------Brady--------------

   What did you learn as the instructor—and with what they accomplish does it build a foundation for 2026 and 2027 and beyond---

----------Brady------------------

--Congratulations----

 

   Weather update—South Dakota Climatologist –Laura Edwards

-----------------and or Iowa Climatologist---Justin Glisin---

 

  Final words and what is ahead for the rest of May and into the summer months---

 

---thanks to Rocky Forman---and SD Farmers Union President---Doug Sombke---

---our time is up—thank you for yours……

  

May 12, 2026---10-11&mdash;SD Farmers Union Hour-----Business show 5200
&nbsp;&nbsp; I&rsquo;m Bill Zortman and welcome to our Monthly South Dakota Farmers Union Hour----a part of our It&rsquo;s YOUR Business Show&mdash;and this is show 5,200----
&nbsp;
&nbsp; Tuesday&rsquo;s are the days that we are proud to share---on the 2nd&nbsp;Tuesday of the Month&mdash;the South Dakota Farmers Union Show---on the 4th&nbsp;Tuesday of the Month---is the South Dakota Farm Bureau Show&mdash;always with agriculture information those in agriculture and those who know the importance of what agriculture does for them---will not miss.
&nbsp;
&nbsp; So this morning---the gentleman I always work with Rocky Forman has made the trip from Huron to Sioux Falls---having worked to put together the guests and the topics.
&nbsp;
&nbsp; Rocky &ndash;share with us who is in the show---and what our audience should expect to hear between now and 11:00---
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Rob Larew&mdash;Farm Bill E-15---which is Investigation into the Packer industry&mdash;he of course National President of all Farmers Union organizations across this great land</li>
<li>Doug Sombke&mdash;is Long-time leader of the South Dakota Farmers Union----</li>
<li>We&rsquo;ll hear from Brett Heezen---sharing planting update/what producers are watching out for as well</li>
<li>Farm Family are the Johnson&rsquo;s---Brad and Amy</li>
<li>We&rsquo;ll visit with Brad Duxbury---Wessington Springs FFA Instructor &ndash;talking about the QUIZ BOWL Winners&mdash;</li>
<li>As we always try to do ---we talk with South Dakota&rsquo;s State Climatola-just---Laura Edwards---</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; Doug if you will please introduce this segment&mdash;your team had lovingly ALL STUFF DC---National President Rob Larew is with us 
Doug---Rob----Rocky&mdash;Bill----
&ldquo;&rdquo;&rdquo;All Stuff DC&rdquo;&rdquo;&rdquo;&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Past&mdash;Historical-Present-and What&rsquo;s AHEAD-Farmers and Farmers Union-----
&nbsp;
----when we come back---we&rsquo;ll check the report card on what South Dakota Farmers Union Leader Doug Sombke sees&mdash;all listed under &ldquo;Doug Stuff&rdquo;
&nbsp;
10:17/30&mdash;Commercial Break
10:19/00---SD Farmers Union &ndash;what is in your &ldquo;Doug Stuff&rdquo; Report
&nbsp;
&nbsp; We are in the midst of our monthly South Dakota Farmers Union Show&mdash;we just visited with the National President Rob Larew---and now long-time South Dakota Farmers Union Leader&mdash;Doug Sombke&mdash;
&nbsp;
&nbsp; Doug &ndash;good morning to you---on this May 12th---just where are our South Dakota Farmers Union farmers&mdash;where have they been---and how will you get them and their families where they need to go in 2026?
&nbsp;
------------Doug-----------------Rocky Too!!!
&nbsp;&nbsp; And---upcoming events&mdash;for South Dakota Farmers Union----
&nbsp;&nbsp; In South Dakota---other stops and well-getting close to everywhere----------elected officials&mdash;what SD Farmers Union Needs---
&nbsp;---------what others in agriculture need and could get if they work together---
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; ----coming up ---
<ul>
<li>A Planting Update&mdash;what producers should be watching out for</li>
<li>The Johnson&rsquo;s&mdash;Brad and Amy Johnson</li>
<li>Brady Duxbury&mdash;Wessington Springs&mdash;FFA Instructor&mdash;Quiz Bowl Winners too---</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; All following Fox mid-hour business news and yes real news---
&nbsp;
10:28/00&mdash;Mid-Break Commercials/news
10:31/00---SD Farmers Union segment 3
&nbsp;&nbsp; WELCOME BACK to our MAY&mdash;South Dakota Farmers Union Monthly show&mdash;
&nbsp;&nbsp; We&rsquo;ve already heard from National Farmers Union President Rob Larew&mdash;on the Farm Bill, E-15---and yes investigation into the Packers&mdash;OK-----yes all Stuff with DC Doings on it
South Dakota Long-time Farmers Union Leader&mdash;Doug Sombke&mdash;shared thoughts on DC&mdash;and happenings here in South Dakota----and yes what is ahead from thru summer---
&nbsp;
-----one very important update Brett Heezen---is set to give us---is a PLANTING UPDATE----
&nbsp;
Brett you have a state that has been planted&mdash;what do you want to share with us------
&nbsp;
Yes what producers should be watching out for as well&nbsp;
&nbsp;
----Brett---Doug----Rocky---Bill-------------
&nbsp;
Matt Swenson---morning Swenson Commodity update---
&nbsp;
---------------Matt-----------------
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just ahead-meet the Farm Family of the month---from Harding County---and later meet the Wessington Springs FFA Instructor&mdash;who led the Quiz Bowl Winners----
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; This is the South Dakota Farmers Union Monthly report&mdash;all agriculture across South Dakota---
&nbsp;
10:39/00---Farmers Union Commercials
10:41/00---Farmers Union Show segment 4
&nbsp;What I&rsquo;ve learned thru the years---you really can&rsquo;t call it a monthly farm show&mdash;unless you have a Farm Family of the month-----
&nbsp;
This month&mdash;from Harding County---Brad and Amy Johnson&mdash;
-----------Congratulations (Rocky Forman&mdash;joins and explains&mdash;and we interview the &ldquo;Johnson&rsquo;s&rdquo;
&nbsp;
How started their operation
How big&mdash;specializing---how long have been the operators
Crops and hopes in 2026----
&nbsp;
South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates Harding County Ranch Family
&nbsp;
By Lura Roti for South Dakota Farmers Union
&nbsp;
Ask five-year Adley Johnson what she enjoys most about life on her family&rsquo;s Harding County ranch and without hesitation the fifth-generation rancher says, &ldquo;riding horses.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Her favorite? A palomino named Custer.
&nbsp;
Adley is the reason her dad, Brad, is happy he returned home after a more than a decade career as a professional steer wrestler.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;I enjoy it when Adley comes out and helps me. When we are tagging calves, she writes the tag number and date in the calving book,&rdquo; Brad said.
&nbsp;
Amy, Adley&rsquo;s mom agrees. &ldquo;We like having the girls with us when we are working. Sure things get done a bit slower and we have to revolve&nbsp;working cattle around nap time &ndash; either so they are sleeping or so they can help us &ndash; but we enjoy having our family together,&rdquo; Amy said of Adley and 7-month-old Carty.
&nbsp;
Like Brad, Amy grew up on a South Dakota ranch. In addition to raising cattle, her family trained horses on their place east of Hot Springs. Rodeo is also very much a part of her life.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;We are rodeo people. My dad was a World Champion Calf Roper and my mom was Miss Rodeo South Dakota,&rdquo; Amy said. &ldquo;I did everything &ndash; barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, breakaway and team roping &ndash; I did not know any other way. My dad always said rodeo will pay for college. And it did.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Amy loved the competitiveness of rodeo and the sense of family.
&nbsp;
Brad agreed. &ldquo;I still have lots of friends from everywhere. Because of rodeo, I can be in nearly any state and call up a friend,&rdquo; he said.
&nbsp;
Like Amy, rodeo paid for Brad&rsquo;s college tuition. He rodeoed for Eastern Wyoming and Gillette College and then hit the professional circuit until he decided to return to his family&rsquo;s ranch fulltime in 2020.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;Amy and I got married in 2019 and we had Adley in 2021. My priorities became different.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Today Brad and Amy remain connected to rodeo team roping together.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;We are both very competitive, so it is nice to be competitive together and push each other,&rdquo; Amy said.
&nbsp;
Amy works as the Executive Secretary for the South Dakota High School Rodeo Association and trains horses for her family. &ldquo;Anytime I ride, it takes me back to home and family,&rdquo; Amy said. &ldquo;I love training horses for my daughters&rsquo; future riding and rodeo needs.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
As Brad and Amy visit, Adley draws a picture for her Grandma Laura and Grandpa Bill. Along with a fence, grass and trees, the picture includes a horse &ndash; probably Custer.
&nbsp;
The family is sitting at Bill and Laura&rsquo;s kitchen table enjoying a lunch of beef stew and rhubarb bars. Brad&rsquo;s parents&rsquo; home sits just a few yards away from the original homesteader&rsquo;s house.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;My grandma, Nina Klovdahl, homesteaded here around 1909,&rdquo; Bill shared. &ldquo;Grandpa, his name was JR Johnson, had homesteaded in Reeder, North Dakota and sent grandma here by wagon to homestead by herself. They were not married yet. She and her two sisters all came down here and homesteaded their own places. After she proved up her homestead, they got married and had five kids.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Out loud Bill wonders what attracted Grandma Nina to homestead at this exact location. The Johnson Ranch sits in the middle of rolling hills of native rangeland with the scenic Slim Buttes off to the west.
The ranch is 10 miles from Reva, a one-stop-shop for local ranchers and travelers along South Dakota Highway 79 with a general store, feed store, gas station and post office all under one roof and owned by a local family.
&nbsp;
Named after the daughter of its first settler, Reva Bonniwell, Reva is among the many unincorporated ranching communities that make up Harding County. A ranching community that is currently thriving thanks to young people like Brad returning home, explained Laura.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;Harding County is pretty unique in the fact that there are a lot of places like ours that have been here for generations. It is a big sense of pride, not only for our generation, but for the future,&rdquo; explained Laura, who recently retired from a career teaching music education in rural schools in Perkins and Harding Counties. &ldquo;Right now, Harding County School kindergarten class has 24 little people.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
When Brad returned home to ranch fulltime, Bill says letting his son take over the big decisions was not difficult. &ldquo;I was plumb comfortable with stepping back because I think there are always two ways to do something and if two people are trying to figure out how to do something it just makes it complicated,&rdquo; Bill said. &ldquo;And the improvements that have come to the ranch since Brad came back are amazing &ndash; the fences, the buildings, the pipeline, the grazing rotation, the genetics.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Brad is one of four children Bill and Laura raised on their ranch. His three sisters are Robin Zebroski, Keri Casteel and Katie Martin. &ldquo;We are lucky to have 13 grandchildren that all live within a few hours,&rdquo; Laura said. &ldquo;It is so nice to have Adley and Carty so close. We see Adley every day. She calls me up and asks, &ldquo;grandma are you home. I want to come over.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Growing up, Bill&rsquo;s family raised Hereford cattle. Today, it&rsquo;s Black Angus. Nearly finished with Calving Season 2026, the family said it has gone well due to cooperative weather, in other words, no blizzards.
Over the last decade, the family has implemented a more intentional rotational grazing system. &ldquo;Each year we start and end in different pastures. We move the cattle depending on how much moisture we have received and have a take half, leave half rule,&rdquo; Bill explained.
&nbsp;
Access to dependable water made rotating through more pastures possible. To accomplish this, the Johnsons worked with Natural Resources Conservation Service programs to dig wells and install miles of pipeline and fence.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;When I do something to benefit us today, I also do the work looking further down the road for our girls who are the fifth generation,&rdquo; Brad said. &ldquo;What makes our ranch better today, also make it better for tomorrow.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
To view more photos and a video of Brad and Amy, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sdfu.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.sdfu.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1778678462397000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3y4_GlXKcqu3B20Wi8N4WG">www.sdfu.org</a>&nbsp;and click on the SD Farm and Ranch Families link under the About Us Tab.
&nbsp;
When we come back---a visit with Brady Duxbury-Wessington Springs FFA instructor&mdash;Quiz Bowl Winners---605-350-5849
&nbsp;
10:48/00&mdash;Farmers Union Quiz Bowl segment
10:50/00---Farmers Union segment 5
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; This is our monthly South Dakota Farmers Union Show---something we have done for a decade or is it two---
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; ---a key part is FFA&mdash;Quiz Bowl Winners Instructor
---Brady Duxbury&mdash;Wessington Springs----
&nbsp;
----share with us the who-what-where-when-why and how for 2026---and how you built the winners---
-----------Brady----------
&nbsp;
&nbsp; What they did------how you put it together----and who was a part of the team----
&nbsp; What did the team learn with their project---and how helpful is FFA to those in South Dakota whether they live in a town, a city, or a farm township---
---------------Brady--------------
&nbsp;&nbsp; What did you learn as the instructor&mdash;and with what they accomplish does it build a foundation for 2026 and 2027 and beyond---
----------Brady------------------
--Congratulations----
&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; Weather update&mdash;South Dakota Climatologist &ndash;Laura Edwards
-----------------and or Iowa Climatologist---Justin Glisin---
&nbsp;
&nbsp; Final words and what is ahead for the rest of May and into the summer months---
&nbsp;
---thanks to Rocky Forman---and SD Farmers Union President---Doug Sombke---
---our time is up&mdash;thank you for yours&hellip;&hellip;
&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bill Zortman brings entrepreneurs and community and state leaders together to talk about business.