South Dakota's Grassland Resource

A Program Called Bootstraps

The Bootstraps pilot group, Group I, consisting of Todd/Mellette County, SD, farm/ranch families was formed during 1990. Based on the experiences of the group, the program was refined and conducted for a second group of 18 Todd/Mellette County families before
taking it to a wider audience.

"The joys of life aren't at the end of the road, but are found along the way."

--Bootstraps participant

Since its inception, approximately 350 farm/ranch families who manage over 1.5 million acres have participated in the program. Families who participate in the program make a two-year commitment. The first they learn about farm/ranch management from four perspectives - family, livestock and crop production, finances and natural resources. During the second, they use the knowledge gained to develop a holistic, sustainable management plan for their operation.

"Our overall skills as ranchers, business persons, and family members were vastly improved," said one of the original members. "But the most interesting outcome was that our families found this type of learning also sets up the desire and need for learning on a life-long scale. In that sense, Bootstraps showed us that the joys of life aren't at the end of the road, but are found along the way."

For more information about Bootstraps, send us an e-mail or order the video.