Efflings Featured In Statewide Ag Video

In June of 2021, Ray Effling snuck out of the house before 5:30 a.m. But he wasn’t headed to work as usual. Rather, he was meeting a film crew in the early hours of the day in a pasture in order to capture the best light.

This was all part of a special feature that Effling had been asked to do for the South Dakota Grassland Coalition (SDGC). The organization seeks to “promote ranching practices that are sustainable and increase profitability” as well as to enhance water quality and increase wildlife. These are causes that Effling and his family are also passionate about.

Effling found his way to Britton in 2004 to teach high school. He was from the Deuel County area originally and had cattle. He ended up renting pasture land from his dad there and eventually picked up more grassland in Marshall County later. Now the Effling family has big grasslands in both counties where he runs some of his own cattle as well as custom grazes other producers’ cattle. As he has developed his operation, Effling has put special focus on soil and grassland health. “I changed my focus from working on the cattle to working on the land,” he said. “We’ve seen where that has really benefited the soil and benefited the cattle.” He employs a number of tactics such as grazing rotation and the addition of pipeline and water tanks in both counties that have increased profitability and soil health.

The Effling family’s focus on grass, soil and water health have been recognized by his peers as they learned last year when they got a call from the SDGC. They had been nominated to be featured in the “Our Amazing South Dakota Grasslands” campaign.

According to the SDGC’s website, the campaign was created in 2018 with the goal of better communicating the importance and value of grasslands and soil resources throughout the state. This initiative strives to show what South Dakota farmers and ranchers are doing to protect and enhance these resources. Videos are created utilizing footage from interviews with South Dakota farmers and ranchers and showcase footage of their farming and ranching operations.

One of these grassland videos is featured every month on the USDA NRCS South Dakota YouTube page. Effling explained that they were contacted so early because the organizers plan for the whole year ahead. So even though the family filmed their video last June, it was just released on the YouTube page at the beginning of this month.

Effling said he can’t remember exactly who nominated him for the “Our Amazing Grasslands” campaign, but when the family got a call way back in March of last year, they were all on board. This includes wife Marci and kids Austin, Lyndsey, Carter, Emily, and Olivia. “We were happy to do the video,” said Effling. “Grass is our crop and we are eager to promote the right direction that producers should be going.”

He explained that he was met the morning they made the video by a crew with three cameras and two drones. They filmed parts of it on land they have by the golf course and in northwestern Marshall County by the Brown County Line.

In addition to the Effling family, the video also included Amy Engels, a NRCS District Conservationist who worked with Effling on the water project. Eric Magedanz from the Game, Fish and Parks also was included and discussed how the family’s grazing plan improves wildlife diversity and plant and animal habitat. “It’s great when our goals and the goals of these different groups align,” commented Effling. “That way we can all work together.”

The interview for the video also functioned as a long form interview for an article that appeared in the online version of Successful Farming. The article was published on agriculture. com in May of this year. In the end, Effling thinks the article and the video were a great experience for his family. “We enjoyed sharing what we do. In the end, we want to do our part to make this land better.”

To view the video, visit YouTube and search “Our Amazing Grasslands Effling.” You can find the article at agriculture. com.