• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota, a state known for vast open space and sparse population, is getting a financial boost from an industry which considers those to be major assets -- swine production.
• A new hog research facility in rural Brookings has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars and students from neighboring states to South Dakota State University.
• Industry groups from Minnesota and Iowa have pledged funds toward a new $5.5 million swine facility at SDSU. This session the South Dakota Legislature gave final approval and $3 million for the project.
• The swine industry thrives in remote locations, because isolation reduces the spread of disease and keeps neighbors away from the smell of manure. South Dakota also has a ready supply of crops to feed pigs.
• South Dakota now ranks as the 10th largest producing state with 1.2 million hogs, according to U.S. Agriculture Department statistics, although that is far behind top producer Iowa with 20 million head and No. 3 Minnesota with nearly 8 million.
• But the number of sows, and students studying hog production, is rising in South Dakota. The number of breeding sows in the state increased by 12 percent from 2011 to 2013. Enrollment in the animal sciences program at SDSU has nearly doubled over the last 10 years.
• Dusty Compart, a junior studying animal science, opted to study at SDSU about two and a half hours from his family's farm in Nicolette, Minnesota.
• "It seemed like there were a lot of new opportunities there," Compart said. "So many universities are making cutbacks and SDSU is making advancements."
• The facility will include three new complexes including a sow barn with an observation area and a 70-seat learning center.
• David Preisler, executive director of the Minnesota Pork Board, said the board's $250,000 donation to SDSU is a sizeable pledge for the group that usually funds in-

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