Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) took advantage of last Thursday’s bonus day off from Congress to head back west and meet with some of her peeps at the AgFirst Farmers Cooperative in Aurora, SD.

Noem, who is a member of the farm bill conference committee scheduled to begin meeting this week, kicked back with a couple of the coop members and talked informally about differences between the House and Senate bills. She also talks about the value of ethanol production to cattle producers in her state.

As a farmer and rancher herself, Rep. Noem looks relaxed and comfortable in her jeans and boots with her normally perfectly-styled locks hidden under a ball cap.