24 Hours | 24 Experiences with the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences – A 2026 One Day for STATE Event

The center of the image says One Day for STATE. The bottom says join us Sept. 10. The top says 10th annual with the South Dakota State University logo.

Join the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and SDSU Alumni & Foundation to celebrate One Day for STATE on Sept. 10.

Back for its second year is our 24 Hours | 24 Experiences giveaway! Everyone who makes a donation to a unit or department within the college during the time frames below will be entered to receive the corresponding unique experience, regardless of donation amount.

New this year, we are combining our early morning and early afternoon time slots, meaning donors will be entered to win one of two experiences if they donate between 1-1:59 a.m. or 1-1:59 p.m., and the same is true for the corresponding 2-2:59, 3-3:59 and 4-4:59 timeslots.

Stay tuned on Sept. 10 as a college-specific donation link will appear below.

(Link will go live at midnight, Sept. 10, and remain live until 11:59:59 p.m.)

  1. 12-12:59 a.m. – Select a college department or unit to be featured in the January 2026 issue of "Growing South Dakota"
    1. Due to production schedules, the unit selection must be submitted by Sept. 30, 2027.
  2. 1-1:59 a.m. and 1-1:59 p.m. – Request the SDSU Extension Cybersecurity Trailer for a public event in South Dakota
    1. The event must be a public event.
    2. One winner be chosen for an event in East River.
    3. One winner will be chosen for an event in West River.
  3. 2-2:59 a.m. and 2-2:59 p.m. – One-on-one with an SDSU expert
    1. One winner will be chosen and get the opportunity to have a one-hour meeting with one of our SDSU plant experts.
      1. Kristine Lang, SDSU Extension consumer horticulture specialist
      2. Ali Nafchi, SDSU precision agriculture specialist
      3. Madalyn Shires, SDSU plant pathologist
    2. One winner will be chosen and get the opportunity to have a one-hour meeting with one of our SDSU animal experts.
      1. Maristela Rovai, SDSU Extension dairy specialist
      2. Rafe Royall, SDSU Extension swine specialist
      3. Phil Urso, SDSU assistant professor in bison studies
      4. Jaelyn Whaley, SDSU Extension sheep specialist
  4. 3-3:59 a.m. and 3-3:59 p.m. – Guided private tour of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the winner’s choosing or a golf cart tour of the SDSU Brookings campus
    1. Tour options are Cottonwood Field Station (Philip), Dakota Lakes Research Farm (Pierre), Northeast Research Farm (South Shore), Oak Lake Field Station (Astoria), Southeast Research Farm (Beresford), West River Research Farm (Sturgis) or the main SDSU campus in Brookings.
    2. One winner will be chosen for an experiment station tour for themselves and up to four guests.
    3. One winner will be chosen for a golf cart campus tour for themselves and up to two guests.
  5. 4-4:59 a.m. and 4-4:59 p.m. – Choose a South Dakota FFA chapter to receive a college ambassador ice cream social or choose an FFA chapter anywhere in the U.S. for the college ambassadors to virtually visit
    1. One in-state donor will have the opportunity to choose an FFA chapter to receive a college ambassador ice cream social experience.
    2. One out-of-state donor will have the opportunity to choose an FFA chapter anywhere in the U.S. for the college ambassadors to virtually visit.
  6. 5-5:59 a.m. – Guided private tour of SDSU Swine Education and Research Facility
    1. For a winner and up to four guests.
  7. 6-6:59 a.m. – Guided private tour of the Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory
    1. For a winner and up to three guests.
  8. 7-7:59 a.m. – Name a sheep at the SDSU Sheep Unit
    1. The unit reserves the right to refuse inappropriate or offensive name suggestions.
  9. 8-8:59 a.m. – Exclusive tour of a Department of Natural Resource Management collection of the winner’s choice
    1. Winner will choose one of the collections: mammal, bird, fish, educational herbarium or research herbarium.
    2. For a winner and up to four guests.
  10. 9-9:59 a.m. – Pick your own basket of produce at the Local Foods Education Center
    1. One winner will have the opportunity to fill a basket with delicious produce grown right on campus at the Local Foods Education Center.
  11. 10-10:59 a.m. – Guided private tour of SDSU Cow/Calf Facility
    1. For a winner and up to four guests.
  12. 11-11:59 a.m. – Guided private tour of the Davis Dairy Plant
    1. Tour ends at the SDSU Dairy Bar.
    2. For a winner and up to four guests.
  13. 12-12:59 p.m. – Coffee with Cassady
    1. Winner gets a half-hour coffee meeting with South Dakota Corn Endowed Dean Joe Cassady.
  14. 1-1:59 a.m. and 1-1:59 p.m. – Request the SDSU Extension Cybersecurity Trailer for a public event in South Dakota
    1. The event must be a public event.
    2. One winner will be chosen for an event in East River.
    3. One winner will be chosen for an event in West River.
  15. 2-2:59 a.m. and 2-2:59 p.m. – One-on-one with an SDSU expert
    1. One winner will be chosen and get the opportunity to have a one-hour meeting with one of our SDSU plant experts.
      1. Kristine Lang, SDSU Extension consumer horticulture specialist
      2. Ali Nafchi, SDSU precision agriculture specialist
      3. Madalyn Shires, SDSU plant pathologist
    2. One winner will be chosen and get the opportunity to have a one-hour meeting with one of our SDSU animal experts.
      1. Maristela Rovai, SDSU Extension dairy specialist
      2. Rafe Royall, SDSU Extension swine specialist
      3. Phil Urso, SDSU assistant professor in bison studies
      4. Jaelyn Whaley, SDSU Extension sheep specialist
  16. 3-3:59 a.m. and 3-3:59 p.m. – Guided private tour of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the winner’s choosing or a golf cart tour of the SDSU Brookings campus
    1. Tour options are Cottonwood Field Station (Philip), Dakota Lakes Research Farm (Pierre), Northeast Research Farm (South Shore), Oak Lake Field Station (Astoria), Southeast Research Farm (Beresford), West River Research Farm (Sturgis) or the main SDSU campus in Brookings.
    2. One winner will be chosen for an experiment station tour for themselves and up to four guests.
    3. One winner will be chosen for a golf cart campus tour for themselves and up to two guests.
  17. 4-4:59 a.m. and 4-4:59 p.m. – Choose a South Dakota FFA chapter to receive a college ambassador ice cream social or choose an FFA chapter anywhere in the U.S. for the college ambassadors to virtually visit
    1. One in-state donor will have the opportunity to choose an FFA chapter to receive a college ambassador ice cream social.
    2. One out-of-state donor will have the opportunity to choose an FFA chapter anywhere in the U.S. for the college ambassadors to virtually visit.
  18. 5-5:59 p.m. – Guided private tour of McCrory Gardens with SDSU Extension Horticulture Specialist Sydney Trio
    1. Not eligible during special events.
    2. For a winner and up to four guests.
  19. 6-6:59 p.m. – Barry Berry with Barry
    1. The winner will have the opportunity for an hour with SDSU President Barry Dunn. Visit to include a tour of the president’s house and sharing his namesake ice cream.
  20. 7-7:59 p.m. – Exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the SDSU Meat Counter
    1. For a winner and up to two guests.
  21. 8-8:59 p.m. – Java with Joe
    1. Winner gets a one-hour meeting over coffee with Joe Santos, director of the Ness School of Management and Economics.
  22. 9-9:59 p.m. – Name a calf at the SDSU Cow/Calf Facility
    1. The facility reserves the right to refuse inappropriate or offensive name suggestions.
  23. 10-10:59 p.m. – Exclusive visit to the SDSU Horse Unit
    1. For a winner and up to four guests.
  24. 11-11:59 p.m. – Name the Department of Natural Resources Management display case cougar
    1. A taxidermy cougar was donated to the Department of Natural Resource Management for its entryway display case.
    2. Name will remain for a year.
    3. The Department of Natural Resource Management reserves the right to refuse inappropriate or offensive name suggestions.

All experiences must be redeemed by Sept. 1, 2028. Certain experiences will have additional limitations noted above. Winners will be notified in the weeks following One Day for STATE. Should the first randomly selected winner decline or not respond by the deadline, a second winner will be chosen.

All questions regarding experiences may be directed toward Allie Arp, director of marketing and communications for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

By Staff
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