In this nearly eight minute video, the South Dakota Grassland Coalition visits with the Sander Family in Custer, South Dakota. The Sander family has lived on the land near Custer, South Dakota since 1946 and have worked to keep it in the family from generation to generation. With rotational grazing, the Sander family have created a sustainable legacy in western South Dakota.
"The impact of in the grazing that we see with the mob short-term grazing is pretty staggering. They come in and eat the grass and then we get out and let it recover. The difference is just...it's unbelievable. The native grasses have come back much thicker and and heavier in areas that were previously continuously grazed.” - Clayton Sander
About the video series
The “Our Amazing South Dakota Grasslands” campaign was created in 2018 with the goal of better communicating the importance and value of grasslands and soil resources throughout the state. This campaign strives to better show what South Dakota farmers and ranchers are doing to protect and enhance these resources. Each video was created utilizing footage from interviews with South Dakota farmers and ranchers and showcases footage of their farming and ranching operations.
If you missed previous "Our Amazing Grassland" stories, the links are below:
January: Ollila Family, Newell, SD
February: Breyer and Wollschlager Families