Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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This week, my personal priority bill, LB1301, was put before the Unicameral for the first stage of consideration. LB1301 would modernize our state’s existing laws relating to foreign land ownership. The bill would add greater oversight and tighten restrictions on so-called restricted entities or their agents, trustees or fiduciaries, referenced in two federal lists: the persons and entities designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the six countries designated as foreign a...
Agricultural producers and private landowners can sign up for the general Conservation Reserve Program through March 29. This conservation opportunity gives producers tools to conserve wildlife habitat while achieving other conservation benefits, including sequestering carbon and improving water quality and soil health. The competitive program, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, provides annual rental payments for land, which is devoted to conservation purposes. As one of the largest private l...
This week, I presented my priority bill for this year before members of the Agriculture Committee: LB1301. This bill would adopt the Foreign-owned Real Estate National Security Act and bring our antiquated foreign land ownership statutes up to date. Our statutes were first enacted in 1889 and many sections were last updated only in 1943. The bill would modernize these statutes by restricting federally-designated foreign adversaries from owning agricultural land, empowering the attorney general...
Organic certification can be a valuable economic avenue for farmers to pursue, as it allows them to access both new markets and higher price premiums. However, many farmers either are not familiar with the organic certification process and are not able to assess whether it would work for their operation, or are daunted by the scope of change and record-keeping needed to obtain organic certification. New resources are available for farmers and ranchers interested in learning more about organic...
Over the past decade, the farm-to-school movement has reached millions of students in the United States and its territories. From school gardens and farm field trips to local food on cafeteria trays, farm-to-school practices help children learn about nutrition and agriculture while also creating new markets for local and regional farmers. To recognize the connections made between schools and local farmers and their role in promoting well-being among children and building strong local economies, in 2010 Congress designated October as National Fa...
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING VILLAGE OF EWING BOARD OF TRUSTEES May 22, 2023 The Ewing Village Board of Trustees convened for a special session on May 22, 2023, at 7 p.m., at the city hall. Notice of the meeting was published May 10, 2023, and May 17, 2023, in the “Summerland Advocate-Messenger.” The purpose of the meeting is to provide the opportunity for the public to comment on the Village of Ewing application to USDA Rural Development for financial assistance in the amount of a $50,000.00 grant for the purchase of a payloader. An agenda was...
Ewing Village Board of Trustees approved applying for United States Department of Agriculture grant, totaling $50,000, to assist with the purchase of a payloader. The vote was taken during a 7 p.m. special meeting, Monday, at city hall. Chairman James Ramold said officials are looking at different options, with prices ranging from $101,000 to $130,000. Trustee Dustin Wright said prices vary, depending on the types and number of attachments included with the equipment purchase. "There's not a...
Concerns about sewer rates and the cost of the Clearwater lagoon project were expressed during the April 10 village meeting held at the Clearwater fire hall. Trustees tabled the purchase of geographic information system equipment to use for locating water and sewer lines. According to former village trustee Jay Snider, the hand-held equipment, currently requested by village maintenance man Troy Behnke, was to have been included in grant funding the village received. “It was part of when we l...
Antelope and Holt counties are two of the 55 Nebraska counties designated as primary natural disaster areas, due to a recent drought. United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack notified Gov. Jim Pillen of the designation, March 31. Based on the U.S. Drought Monitor data, counties included in the designation either suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season for eight or more consecutive weeks or fell into extreme or exceptional drought categories....
As Justin Taubenheim combined soybeans in a Buffalo County field on an October afternoon, he thought about why he does it. "I'm not farming to get rich,” he said. “I'm farming to maintain a legacy, a way of life. Faith, family and farming, in that order. The farm is kinda like the icing on the cake." Taubenheim, 31, sports fewer gray hairs than your normal Nebraska farmer. The average age of a principal Nebraska farm or ranch operator: 56.4 years old, according to census figures. The rising worry: There won’t be a next generation to carry...
Under the warm lights of the Casa Bovina dining room, a round of Certified Piedmontese rib cap glows red, like a rare jewel. A selection of house-cured charcuterie made from Nebraska-raised Mangalitsa pork is served artfully arranged on a slab of reclaimed wood. Beef Wellington - a dish chef Zach Midgett, who came to Lincoln from Napa Valley's famed French Laundry, says he's still perfecting - arrives beautifully plated, with a piece of fork-tender Piedmontese meat at its center, surrounded by...
ausing to reflect on the heroic service of the servicemembers in our nation’s history is an important American tradition. Extending recognition for the immeasurable impact our veterans have made through selfless devotion and love for the United States is why we pause each Veterans Day. We can never fully repay those who have put their lives on the line for freedom in America and around the world, but we can work to ensure those who have served and sacrificed have access to the care and b...
Nebraska is a land of pioneers. Our state was settled by hardy homesteaders who ventured across windswept prairies in search of opportunity. While we often celebrate the grit and determination of these early Nebraskans, they deserve equal credit for their ingenuity. Their inventiveness helped transform the Great Plains into some of the most productive agricultural land in the world. This spirit of innovation remains a driving force behind our state's global leadership in agriculture. Nebraskans...
I recently heard somewhere that burgers cooked in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop are better than burgers cooked on a grill. I’m not buying it. The “experts” say a skillet allows the patties to baste in their own juices as they cook and that’s a huge improvement over losing all-important moisture to the spatters that cause annoying grilling flare-ups. OK, that part I can get behind (and I’ll file the info for non-grilling season), but I still think burgers cooked on a grill are a summer trea...
While traveling the Third District in recent weeks, I have been encouraged by the expertise and creativity our communities possess and sobered by the challenges we face. We have much to be thankful for, but there is also no shortage to the adversity we must overcome. After closely monitoring the recent severe wildfires across southern Nebraska, I joined Governor Ricketts, Nebraska National Guard Adjutant General Daryl Bohac and other local officials earlier this week to survey the devastation...
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is urging poultry owners to monitor flocks for signs of the avian influenza. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed HPAI in commercial and/or backyard flocks in Iowa, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York and Virginia. As of Friday, the virus has not been found in Nebraska. “While we have not seen HPAI in Nebraska since 2015, protecting the health of pountry in the state is a top priority,” said state veterinarian Dr. Roger Dudley. The virus can cause sudden death in birds,...
Turkey basics If this is your first time preparing a turkey, here are a few pointers to keep in mind. These safety tips and recommendations come from the United States Department of Agriculture. Before you start cooking: Thaw the turkey, if frozen. If you haven't yet taken it out of the freezer, do it soon. Thaw it in its original package on a tray. Allow almost 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. A 12- to 16-pound turkey will take 3 to 4 days to thaw in the refrigerator. If you forget to tha...
While the apprenticeship model has been instrumental for decades, the current system applies to more than the typical occupations that often come to mind - plumbers, electricians and linemen, among others. Apprenticeships have greatly expanded in the last decade to include more non-traditional occupations in areas that include healthcare, information technology (IT), advanced manufacturing, and engineering. The United States Department of Labor currently has 1,349 approved occupations that...
Don and Rachel Linquist invite people to be curious about their cattle company. The couple own and operate DH Longhorn, a Page-based business that provides pasture-raised Texas Longhorn beef from their ranch to people’s tables. “The ranch-to-table process is just that – right from our ranch/pasture to our customers’ tables,” Rachel said. The beef is dry aged for three weeks at Wausa Lockers and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Our beef goes into the locker right from our pa...
A couple of weeks ago, a lifelong friend and I took a road trip through Western and North Central Nebraska. We checked out Chimney Rock, the Scotts Bluff National Monument, Toadstool Geologic Park near Crawford and the Niobrara River near Valentine. Social distancing was not a problem. The first night of that five-day trip we spent in Oshkosh, where I grew up and where my travel companion and I met on her third birthday. Her family was new to the neighborhood, her mom was looking for enough...
The Trump administration announced Monday that the United States Department of Agriculture is investing $462 million to modernize critical drinking water and wastewater infrastructure across rural America. According to the USDA, 161 projects will benefit 467,000 individuals across the U.S., including Clearwater and Page residents. "Upgrading the infrastructure that delivers safe drinking water and modern wastewater management facilities will improve public health and drive economic development...
KATIE ANDERSON Nebraska News Service Property tax relief is on the agenda for the 17-day legislative session later this month, but opponents argue that the proposed property tax relief plan will hinder school district spending and taxing authority. State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the revenue committee, is leading the charge to get a property tax relief package passed when the Legislature resumes on July 20. “We have a property tax crisis more severe now in agriculture but moving toward suburbia,” Linehan said. “If you b...
After a successful 2019, educating over 700 farmers at five hemp farmers forums in Clatonia, David City, Pilger, York and Syracuse, Midwest Hemp Forum announces the first event of 2020, the upcoming Feb. 21 Neligh Hemp Farmers Forum, hosted by the Neligh Office of Economic Development and Antelope County Ag Society. Learn from farmers currently growing hemp, local harvesting equipment experts, professors, processors and other hemp experts. The Neligh Hemp Farmers Forum will be taking place from...
The United States Department of Agriculture gave the okay to Nebraska Department of Agriculture's hemp plan, Tuesday. Applications for licenses for the 2020 growing season will begin Monday, Feb. 3. "Now that NDA has an approved state hemp plan in place, we can begin issuing licenses for the commercial cultivation processing, handling and brokering of industrial hemp in Nebraska," said NDA Director Steve Wellman. According to the plan, officials will issue 270 licenses to hemp growers, 30 to...
Four days after tabling a proposal to purchase land for a new sewage lagoon, the Clearwater Village Board of Trustees met in special session, Sept. 30, and approved an agreement to purchase 116 acres for $3,879.31 per acre from Midwest Personnel Management, Inc. Regina Krebs, of Clearwater, serves as president of the corporation selling the property. During a special meeting on Sept. 26, Village Chairman Steve Hankla said grant monies from the United States Department of Agriculture will be...
