State board approves $25 million bond for dairy near Bryant

October 12, 2023

Joshua Haiar

PIERRE, S.D.–A state board approved a bond of up to $25 million Wednesday to help a dairy near Bryant construct manure management facilities.

Joshua Haiar with South Dakota Searchlight reports that during a Zoom meeting, the South Dakota Economic Development Finance Authority approved issuing the bond for the 12,500-cow Washington Dairy owned by Riverview, a Minnesota company that already operates four other dairies and a feedlot in South Dakota. The funding will be used for site preparation, concrete collection lanes, lagoons, settling ponds, and other equipment to collect and dispose of manure.

The Livestock Nutrient Management Bond program issues tax-exempt bonds to purchasers — typically local banks — who set the repayment terms and interest rates for the company borrowing the money.

Members of the Economic Development Finance Authority are appointed by the governor. The bond program is one of many economic incentives offered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).

The authority held a public meeting on Sept. 20 at the Clark County Courthouse to collect feedback regarding the bond, but no members of the public attended.

In a separate project, Riverview plans to build an $86 million, 12,500-cow dairy in Hamlin County on land currently owned by Gov. Kristi Noem’s brothers. That would be the company’s sixth in the state. For that project, Riverview has applied to another GOED program for a refund of up to $4.5 million of sales and use taxes spent to build the dairy.