There’s nothing quite as satisfying as digging into a good ol’ fashioned shrimp boil. Veggies, shrimp and andouille sausage swimming in butter and seasonings create a hands-on feast that’s finger licking good. Our One Pan Shrimp Boil recipe brings it all together, giving you all the Cajun feels without the fuss.

The key to this recipe’s authentic flavor comes from andouille sausage, which is smoked pork blended with Creole seasonings. It’s a home-grown favorite with Southern flare. While you may know that the 1.2 million pigs raised in South Dakota annually eat a healthy diet that includes soybeans, you may not realize that shrimp and other fish enjoy soy too! In fact, a South Dakota-based company, Prairie AquaTech, uses soybeans to create protein-dense pellets to feed farm-raised fish.

Who knew soul food on the prairie could taste so good? Watch and learn how to create your own one pan shrimp boil for your next family meal. Scroll for full recipe below.

Curious about other foods that’s are grown and raised in South Dakota? Let’s take a look at a few that may surprise you.

Hungry for Truth is an initiative about food and farming funded by the South Dakota soybean checkoff. The goal is to connect South Dakotans with the farmers who grow and raise their food. 

Print Recipe

Easy Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil Recipe

Course

Main Dish

Cook Time

35 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 6 Yukon Gold baby potatoes cut into one-inch pieces
• 3 ears Corn each cut into 6 pieces
• 1/4 cup salted butter melted
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 pound medium shrimp tail-on, peeled and deveined
• 1 package smoked andouille sausage sliced
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges

Course Main Dish Cook Time 35 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 6 Yukon Gold baby potatoes cut into one-inch pieces 3 ears Corn each cut into 6 pieces 1/4 cup salted butter melted 2 cloves Garlic minced 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning 1 pound medium shrimp tail-on, peeled and deveined 1 package smoked andouille sausage sliced 1 Lemon cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. In large pot of water, cook potatoes about 10-15 minutes. Stir in corn during last 5 minutes of cooking time.
3. In small bowl, combine butter, garlic and Old Bay Seasoning.
4. Place potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage in a single layer on baking sheet. Pour butter mixture over ingredients and gently toss.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until shrimp are fully cooked.
6. Serve while hot with lemon wedges.

Many South Dakota farmers would say their favorite part of farming is working with their animals. Local farm animals are well-loved by their owners, which shows in the quality of the eggs, milk and meat they create for your family.

Take the happy cows at Marty Neugebauer’s farm, just north of Dimock. Marty’s farm is one of four dairies that provide the milk to make Dimock Dairy’s delicious assortment of cheeses, curds and spreads South Dakotans love.

Marty knows delicious cheese comes from happy, comfortable cows that are fed a healthy diet. Most of South Dakota’s 117,000 dairy cows enjoy a protein-rich diet of soybean meal, 31,000 tons of it each year to be exact. This nutritious feed typically comes from GMO soybeans. Both GMO and conventional crops are nutritionally equal, and planting GMO seeds allows farmers to grow food more sustainably by using less water, fertilizer and pesticides.

Cows aren’t the only animals living the sweet life on South Dakota farms. Jamie and Brian Johnson raise chickens and Angus cattle on their soybean, corn and wheat farm in Frankfort. Chickens eat a diet of soybeans, corn and grains with added vitamins and minerals. This protein- and calcium-rich diet helps them laying healthy eggs for your favorite meals.

Treating animals right means treating the land right, too. Pig farmers Peggy and Brad Greenway keep their pigs comfortable in a high-tech pen that ensures the animals have a constant flow of fresh air and are fed just enough fresh, nutritious feed. These advancements help them use the right amount of water, feed and land to keep their pigs healthy and reduce their environmental footprint. The Greenways aren’t the only pig farmers practicing sustainability. In the last 50 years, pig farmers have reduced their overall carbon footprint by 35 percent.

At the end of the day, farmers appreciate having a best friend with them through it all. The farm wouldn’t be the same without the family dog. Spending time with their favorite pooch makes the work more enjoyable.

Farms just wouldn’t be the same without the animals that give us safe and healthy food. Find out more about how ranchers sustainably care for their cows with a visit to Shawn and Kristy Freeland’s home.

Even with all the fun memories we’ve made this summer, we’re still talking about the fun we had on the farm for the Farm-to-Fork dinner on June 15. It was a great night and the perfect setting to have conversations about how food is grown and raised in South Dakota. What did people talk about? We asked Sioux Falls school board member and mother of three, Cynthia Mickelson, to share a little bit about her experience.

Why did you attend Hungry for Truth’s Farm-to-Fork dinner?

My husband Mark and I received an invitation last year, but were unable to attend. Afterward I checked out Hungry for Truth online and I loved it! The initiative does a great job of proactively communicating with families. We were so excited to be invited again this year.

What kinds of questions or fears do you have about food?

As of now, none, but I used to! The hysteria over GMOs hit when we lived in the suburbs of Chicago and I totally fell for it. I read a lot online and thought I will never feed my family foods made with GMO ingredients. I thought they were some sort of poison. But, after I researched them further and realized that GMOs have been around for more than 20 years, I learned just how safe they are and there was nothing to worry about.

 What conversations did you have at the Farm-to-Fork dinner?

One conversation that stood out was with a Yankton farmer who is having issues expanding his family hog facility. He had pushback from people in the community and it’s kept them from growing their business.

Policies and perceptions about growth like this are interesting to my husband and me. We feel strongly about farmers being able to expand their operation if they wish. People think it keeps some big corporate farm from coming to town, when it actually keeps the little family farms from growing. From our interactions with farmers across South Dakota, we know no matter the size of the farm, farmers take care of their animals.

What do you think about the dinner?

The dinner was so nice! The farm was beautiful, the decorations, the food, everything was wonderful. It was even nicer than some weddings I’ve been to! It was also neat to see the diversity in the operations – there were pig farmers, cattle farmers, soybean farmers, everyone! Agriculture across the country, but especially in South Dakota, is so interconnected—pig and cattle farmers rely on soybean farmers to provide quality feed for their animals, and we rely on pig and cattle farmers to raise high quality, safe meat for us to eat. Everyone at dinner had the chance to ask questions and learn about food right from the source. It was the perfect environment for open dialogue, and it was great to see this community become more comfortable with their food and who raises it. I think we can all learn something from farmers. Hopefully I can come again next year!

See what Cynthia and so many others enjoyed about the Farm-to-Fork Dinner with these blogs about past events.

Gathered Together on the Farm

Farm-to-Fork Dinner Brings Sioux Falls Urbanites to the Farm

Farm-to-Fork Dinner Connects South Dakotans Through Conversations and Local Foods

Amanda Eben is a livestock specialist who works with farmers every day to ensure the health of their animals. Amanda and her husband are active in each of their family farms, helping with their corn, soybeans and pig operations. We sat down with Amanda to learn more about her career and how she connects food and farming every day.

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HFT: Tell us a little bit about your career path.

Amanda: My career is in the field of animal health. I work at an animal practice in Pipestone, Minnesota, which is a veterinary clinic but also a swine management company. I work within the swine team, where we help pig farmers get the right products they need to care for their animals. That includes everything from boots to vaccines to coveralls.

HFT: What does a typical day look like for you?

Amanda: A typical day for me involves traveling throughout the Midwest – mainly South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska – to meet with our pig farmer customers. Some days I spend in the clinic, consulting with farmers to decide what products they need to keep their livestock comfortable and healthy.

I love working one-on-one with farmers to make sure their animals get the best quality care possible. If they have a question or a problem I can help with, the feeling I get is incredibly rewarding. I do what I do in order to help farmers do what they do.

HFT: What motivated you to become a livestock specialist?

Amanda: That’s an easy one. On a daily basis, I get to work with pig farmers who remind me of my dad. He is a farmer and the very reason I fell so deeply in love with livestock and agriculture. He taught me the importance of respecting and caring for animals, whether it’s a pet in your home, or livestock in the barn.

HFT: What is the best part of your job?

Amanda: The best part of my job is the people. The pig farmers I work with feel like family. I enjoy learning about the history of their farms or how they got involved in pig farming, but the best part is when I get to know their families and they get to know mine. I value those relationships because those are the kind of people I want to work for. They make it easy for me to strive to do the best in my career.

HFT: Tell us more about the pigs. What do farmers do to take care of them?

Amanda: The main three factors are shelter, food and health. Unlike the past, pigs today are raised in well-ventilated, comfortable, climate-controlled barns where they stay cleaner and are kept away from predators, flies and the environment. Most farmers work with animal nutritionists to set up strict diets, which are high in soybean meal, the number one source of proteins for hogs in South Dakota.

When it comes to health, just like people, if animals get sick, farmers give them antibiotics to help them get better. Antibiotics can also prevent infections so the animals stay healthy. According to government regulations, if an animal receives antibiotics, the meat from that animal cannot enter the food supply until the medicine has fully passed through the animal’s system.

HFT: What is your educational background?

Amanda: I have a B.S. in animal science from South Dakota State University, but most of my hands-on experience comes from growing up on a pig farm and working on a swine farrowing farm where mother sows have baby piglets. I also picked up experience and exposure to the industry through my internships at Ralco Animal Nutrition and Pipestone Systems, where I now work.

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As an animal specialist, Amanda works with farmers every day to ensure that their pigs get the highest level of care and comfort. Healthy livestock means healthy food and Amanda plays a major role in making that happen with pigs across the Midwest. Do you have questions for Amanda? Leave them in the comments!

“On our farm, animal care is the top priority,” says Peggy Greenway, farmer from Mitchell, South Dakota. She and her husband raise hogs and always look for ways to improve conditions for the animals on their farm. Watch the video to find out what big changes they made to improve the comfort of the animals on their farm.

Peggy says they are very pleased with their decision to the switch to indoor housing. When they kept their pigs outside, they spent a lot of time bedding them down with straw and cleaning pens out by hand. It was difficult to keep them dry and warm in the winter. When they are safe and comfortable indoors, Peggy knows they are providing the best care for their animals.

Read more from Peggy:

• Animal Welfare – Common Ground
• What I’m up to this winter: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
• How to Cook a Juicy Pork Loin

Harvest is complete. The weather is getting colder, and there’s snow on the ground.

Although farmers aren’t out in the field every day like they are throughout the warmer months, farmers are busy running their farms the whole winter, too. To find out more about what winter looks like on a South Dakota farm, we asked Peggy Greenway, a South Dakota farmer, to share her thoughts in this guest blog.

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Our pigs are housed indoors in climate-controlled barns so they are comfortable and content all year round. We used to have our pigs outside in the winter and had to spend a lot of time bedding them down with straw and cleaning things out by hand. It was very difficult to keep them dry and warm during the winter. We’re pretty darn happy they’re indoors now and knowing they’re comfortable.

Because the pigs are comfortable, we don’t need to adjust anything in their feed to give them more energy to keep warm. However, We do change their rations about every other week for the six months they’re at our farm, adjusting for their dietary needs based on weight and age.
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Click the following links to read PART ONE and PART THREE of Peggy’s series. Have questions for Peggy? Leave a comment to hear back from her directly.

On hot summer days, we all need to find ways to cool down. Like us, animals also need to avoid the heat. Luckily, farmers are there to help them out.

Meet Marc: He’s a South Dakota farmer who raises beef cattle, pigs from wean to finish and has a cow-calf operation. In this guest blog, Marc shares his perspectives on caring for animals in warm weather and why things like electrolytes and cooling misters are so important when the mercury soars.

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In the summer, we make changes to how we care for our animals. The warm weather affects them just like it affects us. With cattle, one of the most important things we do is make sure they have shade and access to good, fresh drinking water. We want to make sure their feed is balanced, stays fresh and doesn’t sit out in the warm sun for too long. If we have a large group of animals coming in, we will make sure to put electrolytes in the water. Providing them with plenty of fluids, vitamins and minerals to get through the stress of the heat is necessary.

Our hog barns are mechanically ventilated. As it warms up during the day, we increase ventilation. When it gets above 80 to 85 degrees, we run misters that will kick in on a timer to give the hogs enough water to cool down.

We always make sure to check on our animals throughout the day. If we have to move the animals, we’ll check the forecast and move them on a day that’s a little bit cooler. If we have a situation where we have to haul those animals on livestock trailers or trucks, we make sure we do it early in the morning when it’s cool outside. Especially when it comes to hogs, we’ll put sprinklers on them and provide plenty of ventilation.

I have been farming my entire life, and I have seen farming make huge strides with improving the efficiency, sustainability and safety of what we do. The biggest changes I’ve seen are housing and technology. All of our barns are controlled by computers and software, which is technology that’s getting better and helps us fine-tune what we do. It gives us that ability to manage our animals’ health and comfort level better than we used to so we can precisely meet our animals’ needs.

Though the summer presents different challenges for raising our animals, I am proud to say that their comfort and safety is always our No. 1 priority.tech