Marshall Korn grew up around dairy cows in Minnesota and South Dakota. When he graduated from Garretson High School in 2001, he wanted to become a dairy man himself:
He attended Ridgewater College in Willmar, where he acquired a two-year degree in farm business management and dairy. As a South Dakota resident, he was kind of the “odd man out,” Marshall says. “Most of the guys I went to college with were smaller dairy farmers from Minnesota,” he says. “There must have been 16 of us, and I’ll bet 10 to 12 of them were planning to milk less than 100 cows” [Mikkel Pates, “South Dakota Couple Finds Support for Small Herd in Minnesota,” AgWeek, 2016.01.04].
Korn was ready to enter the dairy field in 2006. He faced a choice: South Dakota or Minnesota?
At that time, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds was trying to recruit young dairy farmers with EB-5 visa investment. But South Dakota only wanted big factory dairies:
Marshall says he was disappointed when he visited the Farm Service Agency in Minnehaha County, Sioux Falls, looking for financing help. “They really weren’t interested in someone wanting to milk less than 300 cows, in essence,” Marshall says. “The FSA guy literally laughed at me” [Pates, 2016.01.04].
Minnesota didn’t think Korn’s small-dairy aspirations were a joke. Minnesota invested in Korn. Their FSA and state ag department gave him money; a state university dairy educator and a state dairy inspector helped Korn and his wife find a good location to raise and milk cows. The state helped advise them through the milk price collapse of 2009 (the one that bankrupted South Dakota’s biggest EB-5 dairy investment, in Veblen).
And now Marshall Korn is in his tenth year of dairy production, turning out good milk and a good life for his family. His wife Melanie explains the benefits South Dakota laughed away:
She says the small dairy is a good fit for her family, and thinks small businesses offer a bigger “multiplier effect” for governments to support. “Plus, I get to be with my kids every day, watch them grow up,” she says. “I get to see them experience new things, including the cows” [Pates, 2016.01.04].
p.s.: The Pates article doesn’t even mention Minnesota’s income tax as a factor in Korn’s economic calculations.
“”I wish I had a better answer,’ Rounds said.”
http://www.capjournal.com/news/rounds-talks-gridlock-social-security-and-air-service-at-pierre/article_6d3a602a-b432-11e5-98e1-4ba57d4980df.html
Wingnuts are like horses.they can’t see what is directly in front of them. They only see the koch bros and dollar signs in their peripheral vision.
Mike from Iowa,
I was thinking a similar thought; how much extra money to grease the skids would someone who milks ‘only’ 100 cows have? Proving the thought – ‘Go big or go home’ economic development objectives of the GOED.
Sounds similar to the story of a guy named Kellogg from Michigan who came to SD and was impressed with the quality of the oats grown near Woonsocket. When he attempted to start a business to use oats to make a “cold serial” his attempt to get assistance was met with overwhelming rejection. When will we learn?
I have said for years, that Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development offices seem more worried about “elephant hunting” than providing real employment growth.
Lets say a small community wants to add 100 jobs. You could spend lots of money attempting to lure an employer that would add those 100 jobs. If you win, you get lots of recognition. But there is lots of competition. And if the business fails, you lose 100 jobs at once.
If the same effort and resources were put into finding 10 companies that each had 10 employees, you still create 100 jobs. But no one gets their picture in the paper at a “groundbreaking” when those small companies open their doors.
So if the guy had wanted a bigger dairy herd he would have gotten the money for it and stayed in SD? So MN took a gamble on him and he didn’t go belly up. MN doesn’t just talk the talk, its leadership really does have an earnest desire at times to help its people I need a handkerchief, sniff….:)
Good point about elephant-hunting, RLM. If I were a Chamber or EcDev director, I would love to be able to go to a new dairy or garage or shop each week, shake hands with a couple-three new employees, and say to the new business owner, “Hey! Good job! I’m glad we could help!” Elephants tend to stomp out local competition.
RLM, don’t get me started on the chambers. The US Chamber of Commerce has a facebook page, Institute for 21st Century Energy, that is the biggest shill for fossil fuel energy that I have seen. They are also backing nuclear but make light of any efforts for renewable energy. 21st Century Energy they say? Hogwash, more like 19th Century Energy.
During a Dept of State hearing on the Keystone XL in Pierre a few years back the Pierre Chamber spoke in favor of the KXL as did the Pierre mayor and the Pierre city council. Pierre had no dog in the fight, the KXL would not have come within 50 miles of Pierre. What were they doing supporting the KXL rather than supporting me, a landowner threatened by TransCanada and a good customer of Pierre’s businesses. I won’t forget that.
Really? Minnesota a very Democratic state is more welcoming and engaging to small business than South Dakota, a very Republican state? Ever wonder why SoDak is so Republican. Here’s my contention.
~The Dakotas have the highest percentage of voters with German heritage in all of USA and both states are overwhelmingly Republican. (contrary to ethnic lore these states are not majority Scandanavian…neither is Minnesota) There have been only four U.S. Presidents with half German heritage. (none with full German blood) Three have been Republicans and one Democrat. Can you name them?
~I contend that SoDak votes strongly to the right because of it’s heritage. The voters swallow the Republican doctrine like a bitter pill. They don’t know any other way then to do what’s always been done and have a strong aversion to change.
Even the National Black C of C is funded by Exxon Mobil and ALEC and works against renewable fuels.
According to Atlas of Presidential elections.one wingnut was of German descent-Eisenhower and 3 Dems were of Dutch descent 2 Roosevelts and Van Buren-go figure.
Correction-I should have said 3 presidents were of Dutch descent.
The last five wingnut potii have yet to be de-scented. Never too late.
Keep looking, Mike. Hint … one of the Republicans was the worst President of my lifetime (so far) and the Democrat was the best President of my lifetime.
This post is a back door opening to the possibility of Donald Drumpf (His Grandfather changed Drumpf to Trump because he was trying to sell second rate homes to New York Jews and a German name made it nearly impossible.) becoming President. He isn’t the first loud mouthed German to appeal to a large group of the simple minded and highly allegiant.
Another source lists a fifth President of German-American descent. George W. Bush (another Republican)
Porter Who Resides in Colorado,
Another fascinating tangent regarding this time Americans of German descent. Would this apply to those Germans residing in Germany? Angela Merkel and past German leaders also? Never realized ALL of them were as you described.
Please enlighten us more!
You scare me, Lynn. I’m here to discredit bullies like you, not educate them. Your ability to realize seems diminished.
In conclusion, added research showed that two of the worst USA leaders of my life were of German ancestry and the best was also. I contend one reason SoDak is so heavily Republican is because it’s a state full of angry, stubborn old German men with a strong aversion to change. They judge USA by what Germans do well. Put the nose to the wheel day after day, no matter what new things arrive on the scene. The things Germans don’t do well are dismissed as worthless.
~ The first President I don’t know much about but my Republican family in Iowa revere the guy. Herbert Hoover. Next was Eisenhower; the first President I can remember. He did some good but most of the world challenges were already solved.
~ There have been two presidents whose fathers were of German descent: Dwight Eisenhower (original family name Eisenhauer and maternal side is also German/Swiss) and Herbert Hoover (original family name Huber). Presidents with maternal German ancestry include Richard Milhous Nixon (Nixon’s maternal ancestors were Germans who anglicized Melhausen to Milhous) and Barack Obama, whose maternal family’s ancestry includes German immigrants from the South German town of Besigheim and from Bischwiller in the Alsace region that is nowadays part of France; both families came to America around 1750.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Americans#German-American_presidents
Porter Who Resides in Colorado,
Would those Americans of German descent who brew the beer at the Schell Brewery in New Ulm really be hiding a grimace and anger underneath that smile and laughter as they drink an ice cold Grain Belt or their other beers especially during Oktoberfest? When they bring out new beers with the help of a master from Germany are they that resistant to change? Btw! They have a fleet of Ford C-Max plug in Hybrid Energis in their fleet.
Gosh! What have you found to be about ALL Americans of Celtic and other descents out there under this thread of Ten Years After South Dakota Laughed Him Away, Small Dairy Operator Succeeding in Minnesota.
Please continue. We eagerly await.
Actually, miners organizing into unions in Northern MNs Iron Range started MNs long history of progressive voting. Northern MN is predominantly of Scandinavian heritage. Southern MN is strong German.
I don’t think there was ever a history of workers organizing in SD.
And if you get too far up Nort’, you can’t get the Packers. ;)
(what a rivalry!)
Ability to make money is always more important than the tax rate. No income no tax bill.
Roger—so true!!!!!!