We know China's role as a growing economy has implications across the world. But do those effects really trickle down to South Dakota? Agriculture leaders across the state say the answer is a definite "yes."

This corn from Dan Feige's farm will be trucked up to Madison, put on rail cars and shipped out to the pacific northwest. From there it will be loaded on big ships and taken all over the world.

"Coming along real nice." This soybean field near Wentworth is more than six thousand miles away from China. But what's happened in the land of a billion people has a direct effect on Dan Feige, and other South Dakota growers. Millions of people in China now have jobs and money in their pocket. "It's a well known fact that the first thing that people do is buy protein. And that's soybeans. That's meats. That's anything that has something to do with protein. That's the first thing they'll buy."

China is now in the market for virtually all kinds of goods. The result is the law of supply and demand, driving prices higher across the globe. Some of the same factors that are driving the price of oil higher are good news for food producers like Dan, who's also the Director of the South Dakota Soybean Association. "We're such a worldwide market now. I mean if you don't believe in world markets now, your fooling yourself. Because everything that happens around the world, boils down to South Dakota right here."

A member of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council told KSFY China has had a little different effect on the corn industry. The country used to export some of the corn it produced. Now it's not, reducing the supply available to other countries.