James Faulstich
Congratulations to SDALT Board Member Jim Faulstich on receiving an Honorary Doctorate From SDSU!
SDALT Board Member Jim Faulstich is one of four individuals to be awarded an honorary doctorate from South Dakota State University, for his extraordinary contributions to South Dakota and beyond.
The highest honor bestowed by the regents and university, an honorary doctorate is meant to pay tribute to worthy individuals. The doctorate recognizes the efforts of talented, selfless and energetic individuals who have performed beyond the call of duty in service to humankind.
Faulstich and his wife, Carol, own and operate Daybreak Ranch near Highmore. Faulstich is a longtime advocate for and practitioner of natural resource management and applying a holistic approach to regenerative land management, with an emphasis on soil health, wetlands and native grass management.
Faulstich has shared what he has learned from his experience with numerous groups, both on the ranch and at conferences and events in numerous states and Washington, D.C. He was a speaker at the White House Conference on Conservation and hosted U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar at the ranch when the secretary visited South Dakota.
Faulstich has received more than 20 local, state and national awards for his leadership in agriculture and natural resource conservation. He was recruited to serve on the national Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources, serves on numerous boards representing production agriculture, and improves the land for future generations. He was instrumental in bringing the Leopold Conservation Award to South Dakota to recognize landowners who excel in natural resource conservation and was a leader in starting several landowner-led conservation organizations.
Faulstich is a 1968 graduate of Highmore High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from South Dakota State University in 1972. He was selected for a Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture Award from the Honor Society of Gamma Sigma Delta in 2011 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015, both from South Dakota State University.