Our Guiding Principles
Heritage – We are dedicated to the agricultural families we were founded to serve and to promoting and preserving the agricultural heritage, private land stewardship, and rural way of life that have always defined South Dakota.
Leadership – We advocate for agriculture and agricultural families to ensure that the primary focus of land conservation in South Dakota is conserving the land and working with the families that produce the food and fiber that feeds the world.
Transparency – We are committed to operational and financial transparency while recognizing the sensitive nature of our work and protecting the privacy of our landowners and donors.
Discipline – We remain steadfast in our commitment to creating and implementing conservation strategies that work for agricultural lands and agricultural producers.
Creativity – We strive to be an innovator in conservation and conservation policy with a focus on the human elements of land conservation.
Result Driven – We base our success on results. Our metrics will be rooted in the working lands that are permanently conserved (i.e. the land that remains available for agricultural production), achieving the goals of the agricultural families with whom we work, and the overall outreach to the general public about the importance of conserving agriculture, productive land, agricultural families, rural communities and our heritage.
Perpetuity – We operate and make decisions based on our perpetual obligations to the conservation easements we steward and the agricultural lands and families we serve.