While South Dakota lets slip opportunities to expand its international trade profile, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will lead a trade mission to England and Finland in November:
Walz will lead a delegation with about 30 representatives of the state’s medical technology, food and agriculture, environmental technology and education sectors Nov. 12-19.
“I’m looking forward to traveling with Minnesota industry leaders to showcase all we have to offer here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Walz said in a statement Monday. “Both the United Kingdom and Finland are important trade partners with Minnesota.”
Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson, Economic Security Commissioner Steve Grove and First Lady Gwen Walz will travel with the governor.
“The U.K. is our eighth market for exports, and we believe the time is right to open even more doors for Minnesota’s exporters, including those at the cutting edge of technology for medical companies and addressing the realities of climate change,” Grove said [“Walz to Lead Trade Mission to England, Finland in November,” AP via U.S. News and World Report, 2021.08.10].
According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, from 2008 to 2018, Minnesota increased its annual goods exports 18%, to $22.7 billion, 6.2% of the state’s GDP. Over the same period, South Dakota’s exports shrank 13% to $1.4 billion, only 2.8% of our 2018 state GDP. Exports make up a smaller percentage of GDP in South Dakota than in any neighboring state.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem likes flying; it’s surprising she isn’t going on more of these foreign trips, if not to actually help South Dakota catch up with the global economy, then at least to make it look like she has some foreign policy chops for her 2024 Presidential campaign.
SD works the other way around – foreigners have to pay – EB5. Then they can half way say “I’m an American – sort of.” and get an audience with the insular queen of the ice and snow.
It’s hard to export underpaid labor with no safety net.
Europe was devastated after WWII and soon discovered the quickest recovery was by instituting “modern socialism”, which is quite simply buying what nearly everyone needs and wants as a group.
Think Costco – the patrons pay a fee to buy as a group. In modern socialism the citizens pay taxes to buy as a group. Same principle and Costco is very popular. Just don’t tell the MAGA’s it’s really modern socialism.
They also have to wear a mask to shop, so I think they kinda know Porter. It’s like the socialist banking they have in North Dakota. If it works they use it but call it something else.
Well…the sad fact is, you get beyond soybeans and corn and we don’t have much to sell overseas.
The second sad fact is that South Dakotans in charge since Governor Mickelson have no vision, no big thinking; instead opt for thinking small and tinkering with the comfortable that they know.
For example, the dairy CAFO is dead. It doesn’t know it yet. Perfect Day manufactures dairy protein, whey; then creates animal-free dairy products. South Dakotans could have done this, were they focused on the process and not the udder. (This is also why the US and South Dakota NEEDS immigrants. Entrenched interests think like entrenched interests and really do not think.) It requires little imagination to realize how scaling up Perfect Day kills the dairy CAFO, kills the dairy-legislative-university-industrial complex. The sooner the better for our health and environment. It is not too late for South Dakota to become a leader in the 21st Century food economy. But we have a governess who’d rather horse-around, than have a vision and lead.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/12/business/perfect-day-dairy-protein-hnk-intl-spc/index.html
https://perfectdayfoods.com/about-us/
John – Perfect Day is a “perfect example”. So are laboratory, stem cell ribeye steaks.
If land is no longer necessary for half of food production, where do “anti change” South Dakota leaders intend to go?
SD is among the bottom ten states in Innovation Skills ratings.
This is ridiculous since SD is mostly of German heritage and Germans are the most innovative group on Earth.
The roadblock in SD is the inbred aversion to change.
The embracing of “the way it used to be”.
That’s great for Lawrence Welk but not for staying current in modern food production sans agriculture.