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• The visit is being timed to coincide with a China food show because of the potential for exporting South Dakota agricultural products. Daugaard said the Chinese are interested in ag imports because their agriculture industry is "unbelievably primitive."
• "China has a huge demand for importing food and feed," said South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Walt Bones in a news release announcing the trade mission. "South Dakota's agriculture businesses are well positioned to supply China the products they need."
• Like last year's trade mission, the trip is being funded by a federal State Trade and Export Promotion grant from the Small Business Association. Businesses that make the trip will be eligible for partial reimbursement of travel costs.
• We are pleased to see South Dakota return to China to expose the world's largest nation to South Dakota-grown and made products. According to the U.S. China Business Council, South Dakota's exports to China have grown from $20 million in 2009 to $70 million in 2011. Despite tripling exports in just two years, South Dakota still has a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the country on trading with China. Only North Dakota and Wyoming have fewer exports with China than South Dakota.
• South Dakota may have arrived late to the China trade dance, but the potential for increasing business with China is enormous - more than 30 states have exports of more than $500 million.
• South Dakota has to sell itself to the Chinese as a good trading partner, and the only place to do that is in China.
• ___
• Argus Leader, Sioux Falls. Jan. 9, 2013
• Leave easement law alone
• Forever certainly is a long time.
• But so far, perpetuity has worked when it comes to South Dakota landowners signing conservation easements.
• Lawmakers this year will again look at that set up when they debate the state's business in Pierre. House Bill 1007, one of two proposals to emerge from a summer committee that studied how farmland is valued, would cap any conservation easements at 30 years.
• The easements are voluntary and typically restrict how land can be used. Sen. Jason Frerichs, D-Wilmot, is a co-sponsor of limiting the length of easements to 30 years because it prevents future landowners from doing what they want and complicates how land is valued for taxes.
• But we think allowing landowners to have conservation easements set up for per

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