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 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was established in 1824 within the War Department by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, though it was not formally authorized by Congress until 1832. Initially created to manage the U.S. government's relations with Native American tribes, the BIA played a central role in implementing federal Indian policy, including treaty enforcement, land management, and the administration of annuities and trade.
In 1849, the BIA was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior, where it remains today. Throughout the 19th century, the agency was deeply involved in westward expansion policies, including the forced relocation of tribes, the reservation system, and assimilation efforts such as boarding schools and allotment under the Dawes Act of 1887.
In the 20th century, the BIA’s role shifted significantly. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 reversed allotment and promoted tribal self-governance. The mid-20th century saw a return to termination policies, which were again reversed during the Indian self-determination movement of the 1970s. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 marked a major turning point, allowing tribes to administer their own programs.
The BIA supports tribal governments through services such as law enforcement, infrastructure, education, and natural resource management. It operates under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is committed to promoting tribal sovereignty and self-governance."
Loto Rollinstahl Underwood was born on August 22, 1888, in Bryant, South Dakota, to John E. and Mary M. (McLees) Underwood. She was one of four daughters—Ethel, Genevieve, Loto, and Beatrice—the latter three of whom attended South Dakota State College. Her parents emigrated from Canada in 1882 and settled in Garfield Township, Hamlin County, South Dakota, where John Underwood worked in the hardware business. While attending South Dakota State College, Loto was a member of the Athenian Society. She married Orland Emilie White on July 28, 1913. Loto Underwood White died on April 21, 1968, in a nursing home in Charlottesville, Virginia.
TV Productions Inc. is a locally owned video production company based in Brookings, South Dakota. The company provides full-service media production, including filming, editing, and post-production services, primarily for clients in the Brookings area. It has been involved in the creation of a wide range of audiovisual content, including promotional materials, event documentation, and institutional recordings, particularly for South Dakota State University. The company is owned and operated by Jay Vanduch, who has also served in operations at the SDSU Performing Arts Center. TV Productions Inc. has contributed to the preservation and dissemination of local and institutional history through its media work.
Andrew Benjamin Trump was born on November 28, 1950, in Brookings, South Dakota, to Alfred G. Trump Jr. and Anne A. Trump. His father served as librarian and archivist at South Dakota State University, and his mother worked at the Brookings Public Library. He later resided in Fargo, North Dakota, and passed away unexpectedly in Sioux Falls on October 27, 2021, at the age of 70.
Alfred “Al” George Trump Jr. was born April 23, 1907, in Kahoka, Missouri, to Alfred G. Trump Sr. and Elizabeth Bonnett Trump. At age eleven he moved with his family to Chicago, where he graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1924. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Germanics from the University of Chicago in 1929 and later completed the A.B.M.S. degree in 1933 and the A.M.L.S. degree in 1938 at the University of Michigan. Prior to coming to South Dakota, Trump gained broad professional experience in both public and academic libraries, holding positions at the Chicago Public Library, the University of Chicago Library, the University of Michigan Library, the Michigan State Law Library, and Virginia Junior College in Minnesota. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 as a lieutenant, performing intelligence work in the continental United States and Hawaii.
Trump joined South Dakota State College in 1948 as a librarian and was at that time the sole faculty member assigned to the library. The collection comprised approximately 90,000 volumes housed on the second floor of Lincoln Library, serving a student body of about 900. Appointed director of libraries in 1959, he oversaw a period of substantial expansion that paralleled the institution’s growth and the introduction of doctoral programs beginning in 1954. By his retirement in 1972, the library system held roughly 270,000 volumes and 3,000 journal subscriptions in Lincoln Library, with additional specialized collections located across campus and at nursing facilities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trump attributed the rapid growth of holdings, particularly in scientific journals, to expanding research needs and played a central role in developing one of the strongest research library collections in the state. After retirement, he continued to serve as archivist emeritus and assisted with planning and logistics for the 1977 relocation of collections to the Hilton M. Briggs Library.
Active in professional service, Trump served as president of the South Dakota Library Association (1958–1959), represented the state in the Mountain Plains Library Association, and served on the governing council of the American Library Association. In Brookings, he participated in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and university and community organizations for retired faculty and teachers. On August 22, 1935, he married Anne Harris Arnold, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College who earned a master’s degree in history from Case Western Reserve University and worked in academic and state libraries before serving as assistant librarian at the Brookings Public Library from 1960 to 1986. Together they had four children: Michael, Peter, Jeane Gautier, and Andrew. Alfred G. Trump Jr. died November 26, 1994; Anne Arnold Trump died January 11, 2004.