Agriculture Marshall County

South Dakota

• Marshall County is located at the head of the Coteau Lakes system, which delineates the location of the passing of the last glacier. It is also located on the North-South continental divide. Water from Marshall County flows into the Gulf of Mexico and also Hudson Bay. The bedrock aquifers in the area have either moderately hard of very hard water are considered fresh to slightly saline.
• Marshall County and the prairie Coteau system differs from other eco-regions in two ways.
• First, it has a chain of lakes that were formed where there was little ice shear.
• Second, it has a higher precipitation levels that allow widespread woodlands near wetlands.
• Marshall County has a diverse landmass that has rolling pastureland, wooded valleys, lakes area, to flat fertile soil for small grains and row crop.
• Geology:
• Solid types in the area range from Agriborolls, Haploborolls and Argiaquolls. Natural vegetation, in the woodland surrounding the wetlands, includes but is not limited to Big and Little Bluestem, Switch Grass, Indian Grass and Blue Grama.
• Physiographic:
• Area 8383 square miles
• Elevation and local relief: 1500-2010/50-150 feet.
• Irrigation accounts for 10 percent of total water use in the area.
• Glaciated platform of hummocky, rolling terrain raised above surrounding drift plains.
• Stream network is lacking but has high concentration of large lakes and wetlands.
• Agriculture is the main income source for Marshall County. Crops grown in the county include soybeans, corn, wheat, oats and sunflowers. Livestock enterprises are mainly composed of beef operations with the individual owners finishing the majority for slaughter. There are more cattle finished for slaughter in Marshall County that any other county in the state.
• There are 504,858 farm acres in Marshall County. Of these total acres 263,658 are either in pastureland, CRP, wetlands or woodland. The balance of 241,300 acres is planted for row crop or small grains; the breakdown of these acres is as follows.

2002 Crop Statistics: (1,000 acres)

Barley:                                1.5

Corn:                                  87.5

Oats:                                  20.0

Sorghum:                            1.7

Soybeans:                           104.5

Wheat (all)                           26.1

Livestock Statistics: (Inventory Numbers)

Cattle & calves:                  74,187

Hogs & pigs:                      27,066

Sheep & lamb:                    2,175

Layers                                607

Horse & pony:                    539

Other agriculture ventures in Marshall County and surrounding areas.

Multiple Community Co-op (MCC) Dairy Veblen, South Dakota, is a closed cooperative, which was started in October 1998. In a closed cooperative no more that 25 percent of the investors can be producers. In August of 1999, they were milking 1,530 cows with the full capacity there were 1,600 cows. Since its development it has brought 24 new permanent jobs to the area, serves as an outlet for producers to sell commodities and has created some heifer raising opportunities.

Schiltz Goose: Sisseton South Dakota raises geese for Schiltz Foods Inc.