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Ag ride 2016

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Coop to Cottage Chicken coop turns into cozy getaway for farm family

By Loretta Sorensen

T

he repurposing project farm wife and writer Chris Wevik intended to be a play place for her grandchildren turned out to be an incredibly cute and cozy hideaway for Wevik, her family and some friends.

Wevik’s first idea for the dilapidated chicken coop that had been out of service for some 30 years was to clean it out and create an appealing hangout her grandchildren could enjoy during visits. For the first year or so, that’s how she and her husband Doug used the building. When other farm renovations put the building in danger of being demolished, Chris sounded the alarm.

“I had just cleaned it all up and didn’t want to see it be destroyed,” she says. “We were putting in a new shop and the building had to be moved or demolished. The logical place for it was closer to our house so the kids would actually use it. I knew that would require more renovation so we didn’t have a dumpy looking building next to the house.”

Moving the building on a bale mover revealed how rickety it actually was. However, it survived the short trek and placing it on a cement slab added significant stability.

“The first thing my husband did was replace some of the building’s siding and installed the cute windows,” Wevik says. “In the

process, I decided the building would look really nice if we installed some old windows I had found at a salvage business. The more we fixed it up I began to decide that this might be more of a playhouse for me than for the grandkids.”

Long before she had opportunity to renovate the chicken coop, Wevik had seen a photo of a similar building turned into a Victorian style mountain hideaway cottage. While there were numerous differences in design and interior features, Wevik kept the image of that cottage in mind as she worked through the renovation.

“I chose the pink color because I thought it made the building look so cute,” she says. “It also made it

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Before his career at SDSU, Barry Dunn was a rancher in Todd County. He remains active in the agricultural industry today.

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In taking the presidential seat, Dunn will step down as the Dean of SDSU’s College of Agriculture & Biological Sciences, as well as his role as the Director of SDSU Extension. From ranching, to teaching, to advising, Dunn says he’s excited to step into this new leadership role in his career, and he plans to keep agriculture at the forefront of his goals for the next chapter in the university.

“So many people don’t understand the breadth and depth of available agricultural career opportunities,” said Dunn. “There is an enormous range of jobs available for graduates including everything from production, to food science, to microbiology, to engineering and more.

At SDSU, we are positioned really well to help young people achieve these career goals and be successful. With the facilities we have including the e-trading room, new cow-calf and swine production units, we can offer more

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“I’ll always see myself first as a rancher,” said Dunn.

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“As a student in Dr. Dunn’s class, I was exposed to concepts and ways of thinking that were challenging and in many ways horizon-expanding,” said former student Jared Knock. “As I look back on those lectures and labs now, I have an unmistakable sense that what I was really witnessing was one of the great minds in our field of agriculture and natural resource management.”

values centered around stewardship, whether that’s someone in an urban setting or someone on the ranch,” he said. “Conservation has always been a big part of my life, and I want to make sure that our children and grandchildren have all of the resources that I’ve had. I would like to build this core value of stewardship and conservation into the core values of teaching and research on campus.”

ways horizon-expanding. As I look back on those lectures and labs now, I have an unmistakable sense that what I was really witnessing was one of the great minds in our field of agriculture and natural resource management. The fundamental

teachings of Dr. Dunn have helped me to develop a career, manage a farm and ranch, and start my own business. Most importantly, through his instruction and by personal example, I have developed a world view which constantly challenges

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Dunn’s wide network of former students, colleagues and industry peers are pleased to see him step into this new role as president of SDSU.

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“Dean Dunn is a man of infallible character,” said Jared Knock, a 2007 SDSU graduate of animal science and president of Dakota Vision Ag, Inc. “Since I first met him 14 years ago when I was a freshman at SDSU, I have witnessed Dean Dunn display the most genuine respect and concern for the truth, for students, and for the state of South Dakota. As a student in Dr. Dunn’s class, I was exposed to concepts and ways of thinking that were challenging and in many

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