Farmers and ranchers to be honored Wednesday at the Sioux Empire Fair

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce’s annual Ag Appreciation Day event will take place this week in conjunction with the Sioux Empire Fair at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds.

The 37th annual Ag Appreciation Day luncheon runs from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5. Area farmers and ranchers will be served a complimentary lunch in front of the grandstand and admission to the fairgrounds will be free until 1 p.m., courtesy Touchstone Energy Cooperatives.

The complimentary lunch is organized and hosted by the Agribusiness Division of the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. Nick Langerock, Raven Industries, Inc., is the chair of this year’s event.

“In times like this, I think we are all thankful to live in a community that is surrounded by agriculture and the hard-work and ethics it has instilled in us. The world keeps throwing challenges at our farming communities, and we can learn a lot from their resiliency to succeed,” said Langerock.

“Ag Appreciation Day is a way to thank the farming community and to show that we stand behind them. We are so thankful for the many ways our state’s farmers contribute to our livelihoods.”

Smithfield Foods donated all the fresh pork for the pork loin sandwiches and nearly 100 businesses from the region provide the funds and volunteers to help cook and serve the meal. Approximately 175 volunteers will help serve the meal.

“With so many family farmers, Smithfield team members and agricultural supply chain partners living right here in the Sioux Falls area, it’s a community we care about deeply, and we are proud to be the prime sponsor of Ag Appreciation Day,” said Mark Wiggs, plant manager at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to local farmers and all of our essential food and agricultural workers who have worked so hard to ensure no American will go hungry.”

Steps are being taken to align with health and safety recommendations related to mitigating the spread of COVID-19, including:

- Volunteers are required to wear masks

- Event spacing is expanded to accommodate social distance

- To reduce contact points, meal tickets are not required this year.