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a natural move for the company, adding a solid bank with a strong share of deposits.
• Great Western says it is also interested in the market potential for agricultural lending.
• The company has assets of more than $8 billion, with 200 locations throughout Iowa, Nebraska, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota.
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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Commercial red meat production for South Dakota totaled 82.7 million pounds during May, up 1 percent from April and up 9 percent over the year.
• The Agriculture Department says both pork and sheep production were up from May 2011.
• The commercial hog slaughter for South Dakota totaled 365,100 head during May, compared to 343,400 the previous year.
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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Dry conditions across South Dakota are worrying everyone from farmers and ranchers to fireworks dealers and firefighters.
• South Dakota is not experiencing a drought like some states, but crops will suffer if the region doesn't get some decent rain soon, Larry Wagner, an Extension Service crops specialist in Sioux Falls, told the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan.
• The average temperatures in South Dakota during the months of March, April and May were the warmest in 118 years of record-keeping, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The warm, dry weather has persisted into the summer. The National Weather Service forecasts more heat, with temperatures soaring into the triple digits in some areas this week.
• One sign that area crops are reacting to the dry conditions is that corn is starting to curl in some areas, Wagner said. That might actually be a good sign, an indicator that the corn is trying to preserve water.
• "If it wasn't doing that, you would certainly have some major issues," he said. "They've gone into a conservation mode. They start reacting right away when they get dry."
• In parts of western South Dakota, this year's hay crop could be one-third or even

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