Sioux City Journal

Why isn't agriculture good enough for Union County any more?

Posted: Thursday, May 29, 2008

ELK POINT, S.D. -- I listened to a recent discussion between the opponents and proponents of Hyperion. I heard Gov. Rounds enthusiastically tell of the possibility of "billions of dollars" feeding into the economy of not just Union County, but the entire state. The potential for economic growth in a tri-State area is huge -- dollar signs are dancing before everyone's eyes. What folly. Who are these people who have decided that agriculture is not good enough for Union County any more? And I do not mean Hyperion. Who are these South Dakotans who consider rapid expansion with the goal of more people, more shopping centers, more restaurants, more motels, more roads and pavement as a good thing for Union County? Instead of planting corn, they will plant pipelines and railroad tracks. I wonder if they will be content with the harvest they reap? I doubt it.

In the time it takes to build a refinery, we may have found alternatives for gas and oil that will make the refinery obsolete. Coors beer in Golden, Colo., is making ethanol from leftover beer and mash. The "car of the future" may run on fuel cells or batteries or some new combination. There are so many new and exciting ways that Union County can contribute to the prospect of oil independence, but a huge, fire-belching refinery sitting on productive farmland is not one of them.

When Ole Rolvag lived here in Union County and wrote "Giants In the Earth," I am sure a refinery is not the "Giant" he had in mind. I hope that his vision of South Dakota and the farmers living here who love their land and want to continue to feed this nation will resonate with the voters on June 3. -- Marty Erickson

Story Comments

Ghost Rider wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:31 AM:

" Keith, give up now. Trust me, you are talking to spoiled farm welfare entitlement kings/queens who will fight tooth & nail to keep their dirty little secret of only survivng due to subsidies going. I say doze that farmland & start making some money with it! Vote yes Hyperion! Sold your farmland & are now out of work? Pick up a hammer & start working like the rest of us! "

Tom T wrote on May 30, 2008 4:58 PM:

" Marty, I'd agree with you if we were still talking the farming community of 1969. Times have changed for the ag industry in the past few decades, and the times for which you seem to pine now exist only in our memory. "

Good Old Buddy wrote on May 30, 2008 4:00 PM:

" The author is dreaming and doesn't realize that we shall be using the Alberta tar sands for the next 200 years. Biofuels will never amount to more than 10 percent of our transportation needs. Even if we liquify coal and natural gas, or use other synfuels, we shall still need significant oil for the next couple generations. Agriculture, or agribusiness, hasn't been large enough to support this region for several decades. Incidentally, large-scale feedlots and packinghouses pollute more than an oil refinery if you consider the economic tradeoffs. "

Location wrote on May 30, 2008 9:39 AM:

" Keith, where do you live now?
10k construction workers can be "roudy".
Many contractors use or have used Illegal manual labor. Yes or No?
Once the Refinery jobs are filled it is unlikely that the employee would vacate that job during their career, unless upward mobility? "

Keith wrote on May 29, 2008 8:20 PM:

" I lived in Texas for many years and my job took me over much of the southwest US. Refinery towns always seemed to skip over the minor economic ups and downs and their employment stayed very stable until our policies shifted the focus of refineries to the coastal areas. The training and certifications required for many refinery jobs made employee retention a priority and job satisfaction ran high. Beyond the refineries themselves, the towns benefited from the numerous satellite businesses that contracted to them or supported the transportation and maintenance for the plants. There seems to be a misconception that the refinery employees will be rowdy or run roughshod over the area. This couldn't be farther from reality. Most refinery jobs are technical, not common labor, and Hyperion shouldn't be equated in any way to our experience with packing plants and foundries. Not many crimes are committed by those making above $25 pr hour. "