When I got a news alert about South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s budget address the other day, I found it worth reading.
Mind you, I am not a South Dakota resident or taxpayer, but considering that South Dakota ranks second nationally for the number of flocks lost to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), I thought it would be worth reading. It also caught my attention because just since Thanksgiving, 10 commercial turkey flocks and four backyard flocks in the state were affected by HPAI.
I read the text. Not a word of avian influenza was included. But the price of eggs was.
If you saw my earlier blog about political ads for Rep. Ron Estes, you can probably guess that got my dander up. While Noem’s omission of the avian influenza topic while mentioning the price of eggs wasn’t nearly as blatant of a partisan jab as Estes’ was, I still have to wonder why a person would mention one without the other.
Noem’s history in agriculture and politics
Prior to becoming governor, Noem represented South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives, and even earned a spot on the House Agriculture Committee.
Having been ranch-raised, she seemed to bring a good passion for agriculture and rural America, and I welcomed having someone like her in Congress.
You may even remember that she was a past recipient of the American Farm Bureau Federation Golden Plow Award, and in 2016, her name was being thrown around as a possible nominee for the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
The secretary's job would eventually go to Sonny Perdue and Noem would serve out one more term in Congress before becoming governor. And during her tenure so far as governor, she has become less known for her allegiance to agriculture and more known for her allegiance to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which became a thing with the emergence of the president who appointed Perdue as agriculture secretary.
Appearances matter
I earlier pointed out that Noem’s budget talk didn’t mention avian influenza. And maybe that’s not part of the budget. With a whole bevy of state agencies and properties to manage, it’s understandable that it might not be the No. 1 thing on her priority list.
But you can’t deny that HPAI is a big problem in South Dakota, and if you Google something like “Kristi Noem avian influenza” you won’t find much, if anything at all.
Some states have done a spectacular job in educating the public about HPAI in their states. Take a look at the websites of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, Indiana State Board of Animal Health, and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship as examples. Then check out the South Dakota Animal Industry Board webpage. The latter definitely falls short.
Some may think I’m just a meddling out-of-state agricultural journalist who should hush up because I don’t live in South Dakota. However, as an advocate of the poultry industry, I don’t think I’m out of line for questioning how serious Noem is taking the HPAI situation.
It would be a harsh assumption to say Noem and her administration aren’t paying attention to or don’t care about HPAI and its impact on the state’s poultry industry. But if people, regardless of where they live, are asking if you are taking avian influenza seriously, shouldn’t you at least make it look like you are?
