Planning & Development District III

Planning & Development District III is a U.S. state government entity registered in SAM.gov, located in Yankton, South Dakota, serving a multi-county region comprising Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Lyman, Sanborn, Tripp, and Yankton Counties. As a regional planning organization, it focuses on economic development strategies, regional coordination, and providing specialized economic support services to rural communities in South Dakota. The organization is primarily engaged in developing comprehensive economic development strategies that facilitate public and private sector collaboration to strengthen and diversify regional economic opportunities.

Through federal grant awards, Planning & Development District III has consistently worked on economic development and rural business support initiatives. The organization has received multiple project grants from agencies like the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Rural Business Cooperative Services, with a particular emphasis on meat and poultry processing infrastructure development. Specifically, the entity has been awarded three notable grants: a $262,500 EDA Partnership Planning Grant to create a regional economic development plan, and two Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program grants totaling $4.475 million to provide financing for meat and poultry processors in South Dakota. These grants demonstrate the organization's role as an intermediary lender and regional economic development facilitator, helping to increase processing capacity, create new markets, and support economic growth in rural South Dakota. Additionally, the organization has engaged in sub-grant work, such as a collaboration with the University of South Dakota, further indicating its networked approach to regional economic development.