The North Dakota Livestock Alliance is making some progress in its mission to help develop more livestock enterprises, says Craig Jarolimek, NDLA chairman and a Forest River, N.D., pork producer. Jarolimek was also formerly president of the National Pork Producers Council.

Formed in 2017, NDLA has been able to start conversations with some county and township officials about zoning, Jarolimek says.

“We’ve hosted multiple on-farm and other events to engage North Dakota’s communities, farmers and livestock producers in dialogue about the value of livestock development to our rural communities, farm sustainability, soil health and our ag processors (ethanol, canola and soybean crushers, etc.),” says Amber Boeshans, NDLA executive director.

NDLA has also been able to tell some success stories about recent livestock development projects, including:

• Ransom County Multiplier, a $6 million gilt development facility near Engelvale, N.D., owned by the Nelson County Pigs Cooperator. It was supported by the community and secured its permits and completed construction with little fanfare. It employs 10 people and uses 88,000 bushels of corn and 740 tons of soybean meal annually.

• Fairview Colony, LaMoure, N.D., completed construction of a $2-million swine finishing barn. The Hutterite community will finish 16,000 pigs a year under anti-biotic free regime for Coleman Natural Foods. The pigs will consume approximately 148,000 bushels of corn annually.

• Qual Dairy, Lisbon, N.D., expanded its milking capacity from 800 to 1,400 cows without hiring more employees thanks to its new robotic milking system. The dairy has 50 robots on a carousel parlor. It employs 19 people plus family members.

First summit
NDLA held its first livestock development summit in January. About 80 people turned out for the event, held near Lisbon.

Doug Goehring, North Dakota Agriculture Commission, praised NDLA’s focus.

There are many commodity groups in the state that support livestock, he said, but they have to work trade policy, market development, regulations and many other topics. NDLA is the only organization that focuses solely on livestock development, according to Goehring.

NDLA founding members are the North Dakota Soybean Council; North Dakota Corn Utilization Council; North Dakota Pork Council; North Dakota Farmers Union; North Dakota Ethanol Council; and Midwest Dairy, North Dakota Division. The North Dakota Department of Agriculture and North Dakota State University serve as advisers.

NDLA plans to launch a membership drive this spring, Boeshans says.

For more information about NDLA, visit ndlivestock.org.