South Dakota farmer was able to purchase farmland in a unique way: See how

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A South Dakota program helps first-generation farmers acquire land through low-interest loans.

The Beginning Farmer Bond Program has approved $4.6 million for 13 applicants since 2019.

The number of farms in South Dakota has declined, with large-scale farms now controlling over two-thirds of the state's cropland.

MITCHELL — Cody Kafka had dreamed of farming his own land since he began working on a farm in his teens, but that seemed unlikely without land to inherit. So it felt good when he finally walked across his own acres for the first time this year.

“It was one of the most freeing feelings I’ve ever really felt,” Kafka said.

He owed the feeling to a little-known program administered by the state.

Kafka and his wife, Codi, who live in Alexandria, started think