By Fergal Parkinson BBC correspondent in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The state needs dairy farmers

A growing demand for milk here has meant that this state is now desperate for experienced dairy producers.

The farmers from all parts of the UK have been flown over here by the state government to see if this remote corner of America could offer the new start they are looking for.

South Dakota is roughly the size of England but with only a fraction of the population. At the last count just a little more than 700,000 people lived here.

According to the statistics in the guide book which I picked up from my hotel, cows outnumber people here by two to one.

The opening of three huge new cheese factories, which produce almost all of America's pizza toppings, has meant that they desperately need more milk.

So the state government - unable to attract sufficient interest at home - has decided to look elsewhere, including the UK, for help.

Success

And they have had overwhelming success. So far more than 200 disheartened British farmers have travelled thousands of miles to take a look at what this state has to offer.

Land is cheap and largely empty

"Over here it seems that people want extra milk. They are not tied to quotas and [they are] happy to see you," said Tom Reid, a dairy farmer from Ayrshire in Scotland.

"Back home the British farmer seems to be treated like the great unwashed," he added.

The farmers spent a week touring this state in a converted school bus, visiting dairies, cheese producers and viewing some of the land that is available to buy.

Land here is very cheap - less $1,000 an acre.

"There are many reasons why a British farmer should move to South Dakota," said Roger Scheibe, who is in charge of this programme for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture.

Respect

"Firstly we need them, and the government here respects and wants them. There is also an excellent quality of life here and a ready demand for their milk," he said.

And this latest group of farmers, unhappy with life back home seem quite impressed.

"Being a young chap, there is no incentive from the UK Government to allow us to carry on farming. However here in South Dakota there are no quotas and the government are giving farmers their full backing," said Mark Simpson, a dairy farmer from east Devon.

Farmers must go where they can make money

Among the group was a young couple who had already decided that South Dakota offered them a better chance than back in the UK.

Julie Scanlon and her boyfriend James Ailsby from Cheshire used to manage fifty cows back home, but they have sold up and have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in a new life here.

"In an ideal world we would not move but if we make the decision to be in the dairy business we have got to go where the opportunities are, and that for us is here," Ms Scanlon said.

The state needs many more people like James and Julie to make the move.

As an incentive, it is offering cheap loans and work visas.