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On November 4, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Food and Fiber, appointing Sherwood O. Berg as chairperson while he was Dean of the Institute of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota. President Johnson tasked the Commission with evaluating U.S. agricultural and foreign trade policies, studying their effects on the economy and international relations, and preparing a report to guide future decision-making.

The Commission's work focused on key thematic areas including global production and consumption trends, policies for both commercial and non-commercial agriculture, development of forestry and natural resources, agricultural trade and foreign economic policy, and the broader role of agriculture in world economic development. Each focus area was overseen by a team of five commissioners supported by consultants and researchers.

The Commission operated with a small full-time staff composed of professional economists on leave from universities, the federal government, and business. These staff were assisted by experts and consultants from both public and private sectors. Research methods included surveys, analysis of existing data, preparation of position papers, and briefings from leading authorities. Public hearings were held across the country to gather testimony and insight.

Over the course of 18 months, the full Commission convened 13 times for two to three days per session. These meetings featured testimony from experts, in-depth discussions among commissioners, and the development of policy recommendations based on the research findings.

The 31-member Commission represented a broad spectrum of agriculture, labor, and economics across the United States. In addition to Sherwood O. Berg, members included Harry B. Caldwell, Willard W. Cochrane, C.W. Cook, George C. Cortright, Woodrow W. Diehl, Edmund H. Fallon, Carl C. Farrington, Frank Fernbach, Roscoe G. Haynie, Fred V. Heinkel, Roy Hendrickson, William A. Hewitt, George K. Hislop, J.G. Horsfall, Herbert J. Hughes, D. Gale Johnson, Herman S. Kohlmeyer, Robert Magowan, L.L. Males, Edward F. Mauldin, Paul Miller, W.B. Murphy, Ernest J. Nesius, Leon Schachter, Janice M. Smith, Lauren Soth, Jesse Tapp, Jay Taylor, Herman Wells, and John Wheeler.

The Vigil in South Dakota was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1992 by Mary Perpich and Norman Gambill. The organization focused on issues of censorship in South Dakota, particularly surrounding the broadcast of The Portrait of a Marriage by South Dakota Educational Telecommunications.

Audrae Eugenie Visser was born on June 3, 1919, near Hurley, South Dakota, to Harry J.L. and Addie Mae (Perryman) Visser. She attended rural schools in Turner and Moody counties and graduated from Flandreau High School in 1938. Visser earned degrees from Black Hills Teachers College, South Dakota State University, and the University of Denver.

Her 52-year teaching career began in Moody County country schools (1939–1943) and continued in communities across South Dakota and Minnesota, including Hot Springs, Pierre, Elkton, De Smet, Flandreau, Windom, Verdi, and Lake Benton. From 1954 to 1955, she taught children of U.S. Air Force personnel in Nagoya, Japan.

Visser began writing poetry at age twelve, publishing her first poem in Pasque Petals at twenty-one. Her first poetry collection, Rustic Roads and Other Poems, was published in 1961. She was named South Dakota Poet Laureate in 1974 by Governor Richard Kneip and published nine additional volumes of poetry between 1974 and 1998, often incorporating her own artwork. Her honors include second prize in the 1984 National Federation of State Poetry Societies contest, judged by May Swenson. She also sponsored numerous poetry contests and established the Perryman-Visser scholarship at South Dakota State University. Visser served as associate editor and editor of Pasque Petals during her tenure as Poet Laureate and remained active in the South Dakota State Poetry Society.

She had one son, Lou H. Guardino, and a brother, Donald Visser. Audrae Visser died on October 8, 2001, in Mabank, Texas.

Dr. Vivian Virginia Volstorff joined the faculty of South Dakota State University (SDSU) in 1932, where she served as Dean of Women, Director of Student Activities, and professor of history. She graduated from high school in Elgin, Illinois, and received an associate degree from Elgin Junior College. She continued her education at Northwestern University, earning three degrees: Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy.

During her tenure at SDSU, Volstorff was instrumental in founding organizations for women students, including chapters of Mortar Board and two national social sororities. In 1934, she established Women's Day, an annual campus event celebrating women and awarding scholarships. This tradition continued until 1970.

Volstorff was active in numerous professional and honorary organizations. Her memberships included the American Historical Association, National Association of Deans of Women and Counselors, and Phi Kappa Phi. She held honorary membership in Mortar Board and was a leading member of the Brookings Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She advocated for SDSU's accreditation to ensure the Brookings Branch could gain official recognition.

Beyond campus, Volstorff was widely known across South Dakota as a speaker on international affairs and contemporary student issues. She was listed in multiple directories of professional achievement, including Who’s Who, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in American College and University Administration, Leaders in Education, Dictionary of International Biography, and the Directory of American Scholars.

Robert Todd Wagner was born on October 30, 1932, and died on January 17, 2011. He earned a degree in philosophy from Augustana College in 1954. That same year, he married Mary Mumford, a native of Howard, South Dakota, before the couple moved to Evanston, Illinois, where Wagner attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. They later returned to South Dakota, where Wagner earned his Ph.D. from South Dakota State University. Mary Wagner earned a master’s degree in social sciences in 1974 and a Ph.D. in sociology in 1978.

Wagner joined South Dakota State University in 1971 as an assistant professor of rural sociology and gained wide recognition through his Marriage 250 course. The class enrolled nearly 1,200 students annually across three sections and filled every seat in Rotunda D, the largest classroom on campus.

Wagner served two years as assistant to the vice president for academic affairs and later spent one year as vice president and chief administrator at Dakota State University in Madison. He was subsequently called back to SDSU to assume the university presidency, a position he held from 1985 to 1997.

During his presidency, Wagner guided SDSU from a period of controversy into a more stable era. His emphasis on internal academic and administrative operations, rather than external politics, contributed to significant institutional growth. Despite persistent budget constraints, the campus expanded by more than 380,000 square feet, twenty-two faculty positions were added, and technology became an increasingly central component of university operations. The College of Education and Counseling was established, and major facilities were constructed, including Berg and Bailey Apartments, the Animal Disease Research facility, and the Northern Plains Biostress Laboratory.

Mary Wagner also served as an SDSU staff member, was a member of the Brookings School Board, and represented her district as a Republican legislator for twelve years. She died in 2004.

In 2010, South Dakota State University renamed the Nursing, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Arts and Sciences building in honor of Robert and Mary Wagner, following approval by the South Dakota Board of Regents. A scholar as well as a popular teacher, Wagner authored sixty-four publications and chaired numerous academic committees.

Richard Wahlstrom graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry. He then attended the University of Illinois, where he earned a master’s degree in animal nutrition followed two years later by a Ph.D. in the same field. While at Illinois, Wahlstrom served as a graduate assistant focused primarily on research. From 1951 to 1952, he pursued research with the Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research.

After his work with Merck, Wahlstrom joined South Dakota State College in 1952 to research and teach animal husbandry, a position he held until 1959. That year he was appointed Head Professor of Animal Husbandry, and in 1960 he became Head of the Department, serving until 1967. He returned again as department head for the academic year of 1987.

Wahlstrom was active in professional and community organizations, including Rotary International, the First United Methodist Church, and the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), where he was named a Fellow. He received numerous awards during his career, including being named Teacher of the Year three times. Other honors include the ASAS Animal Management Award (1976), the SDSU Gamma Sigma Delta Award for Research (1980), the F.O. Butler Award for Outstanding Research (1986), the ASAS Animal Industry Service Award (1989), and recognition as Distinguished Professor Emeritus by SDSU (1988).

Grace Wangberg was born on June 5, 1927, in Woonsocket, South Dakota. She earned a B.S. degree from South Dakota State College in 1950 and married John S. Wangberg of Egan in 1953. A home economics teacher at Artesian High School in the early 1980s, she retired with her husband in 1997. They had three children: Michael, Timothy, and Silvana.

Hugh Parker Warren was born on December 3, 1922, in Huron, South Dakota, to Charles Parker and Angie Warren. He attended South Dakota State College in Brookings and later the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he majored in history. His college education was interrupted by four years of service in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. While in the Army, Warren completed Radio Repair School and served overseas in England, France, and Germany.

After the war, he attended library school at the University of California, Berkeley. On August 11, 1951, he married Lois. Warren worked at the Chicago Public Library and the Dow Memorial Library in Midland, Michigan, before joining the St. Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana, where he served as Personnel Services Administrator from 1963 until his retirement in 1988. He and his wife lived in South Bend for more than 40 years. Active in civic life, Warren was a member and past president of the South Bend Lions Club. He died on April 11, 2015, at the age of 92.