Leadership Pierre 2026-2027 Session 3: Agriculture & Natural Resources

The Leadership Pierre Class of 2026-27 dug into the roots of central South Dakota on Thursday, November 12, 2026, with a full day centered on Agriculture & Natural Resources. Sponsored by Kroeplin Air Service, the session showed how agriculture shapes our local economy, our workforce, and our way of life.

We kicked off the morning at the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce with breakfast and “Accomplishing GREAT Goals” with Erik Therwanger. The in-person classroom session gave participants practical tools for setting goals and following through on them.

From there, the class hit the road to see agriculture in action:

• Tour of Sioux Nation Drake Seed in Fort Pierre 
• Tour of Kroeplin Air Service
• Back at the Chamber, the class enjoyed lunch followed by a lively Ag Panel featuring Trevor Hupp (First Dakota National Bank), Loren Hanson (Crop 1 LLC), Steve Halverson (Producer), and Danci Baker from Ringneck Energy.
• We wrapped up our tours at the SDSU Dakota Lakes Research Center.

A huge thank you goes out to our generous sponsors who make this program possible:

• Program Sponsor: BankWest
• Transportation Champion Sponsor: River Cities Public Transit
• Session Sponsor: Kroeplin Air Service
• Community Exploration Sponsor: American Bank & Trust