South Dakota Chapter Officers
 

Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers have a long history of promoting professionalism in the industry in South Dakota. The first organizational meeting of the SD Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraiser was held May 3, 1955, with the first annual meeting January 9, 1956. There were 35 charter members at that meeting and the President and Secretary / Treasurer of the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers headquartered in Denver, Co were in attendance.

In 1962 two of the chapter members applied for national membership, and in 1965, Bill Tubbs became the first ARA and Finley McMartin the first AFM in the State. By 1965, membership had grown in SD to 125, and by 1978, the SD Society had 190 members.

In 1974, the national organization known as the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers circulated a questionnaire to the members of all state organizations and members of the national organization whereby they could indicate if they thought all state organizations should become a part of the national Society, and how this could come about. This was designed to provide much needed legislative clout in Washington by unifying the various state organizations as chapters of the national.

This issue came to a head on October 1, 1978, the date the national Society required all state chapters to vote on becoming a chapter of national or not. South Dakota Society voted to stay independent of the national Society, and to change their name to the South Dakota Association of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers. The SD Chapter of ASFMRA was formed February 17, 1978 and held it first annual meeting January 4, 1979 with 37 charter members.

The SD Association voted to hold joint meetings with the newly formed SD Chapter of ASFMRA, which it did in the initial years of the two "sister" organizations. Many chapter members maintained dual membership for many years. Eventually, meetings were held at separate times of the year, and by 1997 the membership of the SD Association had become inactive. In 2000 the Association ceased to exist by vote of the remaining membership, and the Association funds were given as an endowment to SDSU for the award of a scholarship to individual interested in a career of farm management or rural appraising.

The South Dakota Chapter has remained a viable entity of the ASFMRA and currently has  58 members, 11 of which hold the designation of Accredited Rural Appraiser, ARA, 5 hold the Accredited Farm Manager, AFM designation. Currently our Chapter also has three academic members and three student members maintaining a traditional tie our organization has had since 1956 with SDSU and the academic world.

In May of 2001, the chapter mission statement was reviewed and changed to "Enhancing our Members Ability to Succeed in Their Rural and Agriculturally Related Professions". This new mission statement was the result of our society and chapter now embracing not only appraisers and farm managers, but other related parties to these professions. Our society and chapter remain an important link for our membership to not only advance in their profession, but to have a voice in Washington legislation affecting our profession, and a platform to network with other professionals with similar interests.