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state projects.
• Over half of the students at SDSU are from Minnesota, Preisler said. "Many of those students come back to the farm or to the industry in Minnesota."
• Students are drawn to the quality of the faculty and the smaller size of the Brookings campus, said Barry Dunn, dean of agriculture and biological sciences. He said kids coming from family farms appreciate the rural setting.
• The University of Minnesota campus, for example, is located in the state's twin city metropolis.
• SDSU is currently working on a vaccine for the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, a disease that has been killing piglets and has been blamed for rising pork prices.
• The Iowa Pork Producers Association donated $150,000 to the new facility, according to Ron Birkenholz, communications director for the organization.
• He said producers in the state have children at SDSU and the organization's immediate past president is an alumnus.
• As a rural state, South Dakota offers plenty of isolation for swine operations which is good for disease prevention and keeps neighbors happy who might otherwise object to the accompanying odors.
• Producers have easy access to feed, because corn and soybeans are major crops in the state. Plus they can easily access processing plants in Sioux Falls and neighboring states.
• Glen Muller, executive director of the South Dakota Pork Producers Council, said the group gave $250,000 to the SDSU facility, and some board members donated out-of-pocket as well.
• Promise of the new facility was one of the things that drew Compart to SDSU. He plans to spend a few years after graduation working in the industry then return to his family's hog operation in Minnesota.
• Follow Nora Hertel on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nghertel
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