Nebraska Farmers Union

Nebraska Farmers Union Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Nebraska Farmers Union, Nonprofit Organization, 1305 Plum Street, Lincoln, NE.

Founded in 1913, Nebraska Farmers Union is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality of life and economic well-being and of family farmers and ranchers, and their rural communities.

John Hansen, the president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, says they knew this was coming, and it could have huge impacts...
06/05/2026

John Hansen, the president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, says they knew this was coming, and it could have huge impacts. “Any time there’s a threat to our beef industry, it’s going to not only have a huge economic impact, but also a downstream impact,” said Hansen.

Right now, Hansen also says this could cause another problem for ranchers. The United States is seeing the lowest cattle herd in 75 years. But, he’s confident this parasite can be defeated again.

“This provides an additional challenge as we’re trying to rebuild the herd,” Hansen said. “But now that it’s here, we do have to deal with it. Let’s be about it, and be doing what we need to do at the right time.”

A video report is available in the link below.

Nebraska is one of the top meat and cattle producing states in the country.

Kansas Farmers Union Executive Director Nick Levendofsky said his dad dealt with screwworms on the family ranch as a chi...
06/04/2026

Kansas Farmers Union Executive Director Nick Levendofsky said his dad dealt with screwworms on the family ranch as a child.

Levendofsky said controlling the screwworm population during the summer is key to preventing spread further northward.

“In Kansas, it gets cold enough in the wintertime that it does kill the screwworm, but these summer months are going to be pretty crucial for tracking it and ensuring that we can stay ahead of it,” Levendofsky said.

A case of New World Screwworm infection was detected Wednesday in Texas. Federal, state and local partners have been working to curb an outbreak and prevent widespread infection in ranching operations.

Parts of Nebraska’s Panhandle are still recovering from a mammoth wildfire that ignited in Morrill County in mid-March. ...
06/04/2026

Parts of Nebraska’s Panhandle are still recovering from a mammoth wildfire that ignited in Morrill County in mid-March. The Morrill Fire kicked off after power lines blew into a field, sparking a blaze that ran across 642,000 acres. It quickly became the largest wildfire in the state’s history.

Even before the wildfire, Scotts Bluff County, and much of the Nebraska Panhandle, was experiencing very dry conditions. Now, the county is facing “exceptional” drought, according to the latest drought update from the National Drought Mitigation Center. Much of western Nebraska just experienced the warmest and driest winter on record, which could set up the state for one of the worst droughts in history.

Commissioner Ken Meyer, who previously served as a Scottsbluff firefighter for 40 years and a fire marshal, said he had discussion with State Fire Marshal Doug Hohbein, who told him that he’s recently fielded a lot of calls about drought-stricken counties considering firework discharge bans.

“He’s approached the governor multiple times,” Meyer said. “The governor doesn’t want to take a stand on it at all. He doesn’t want to do anything with it, and he had mentioned probably half a dozen other officials or representatives from different counties calling and asking about it.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Jim Pillen’s office said Pillen had not spoken to Hohbein about possible firework bans, and Pillen has not issued any moratorium on fireworks.

Some drought-stricken counties in western Nebraska are considering fireworks bans in rural areas. But they’re running into complaints from people who say a ban could impede people's rights.

Worldwide, Google's data centers withdrew nearly 9.9 billion gallons of water in 2024 and consumed 7.9 billion gallons, ...
06/03/2026

Worldwide, Google's data centers withdrew nearly 9.9 billion gallons of water in 2024 and consumed 7.9 billion gallons, according to the company's 2025 environmental report. The rest is discharged back into the watershed.

Locally, the company's Papillion data center withdrew 532 million gallons and consumed 416.9 million gallons in 2024, the equivalent of 2.8 golf courses, according to the report. Its Council Bluffs data center withdrew 1.4 billion gallons and consumed a little more than 1 billion gallons, the equivalent of 6.7 golf courses.

Google was the first major cloud provider to disclose annual water use for each of its data centers. Under Legislative Bill 1010, which the Nebraska Legislature adopted this spring, owners and operators of data centers will be required to submit a report to the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment and the legislature's Natural Resources Committee by Sept. 30 each year providing data on annual water use, annual electric demand and other information.

Google announced five new commitments to water stewardship as well as $17 million in support of new projects in Nebraska, Iowa and five other states.

Nebraska citizens are asking public officials to pump the brakes on the deployment of large-scale energy generation proj...
06/03/2026

Nebraska citizens are asking public officials to pump the brakes on the deployment of large-scale energy generation projects while Governor Pillen and a majority of the Legislature moved the Governor’s LB1261through the legislative process that puts the pedal to the metal for mega large-scale energy generation projects. LB1261disarms public power’s traditional self-protection tool of eminent domain for mega large-scale energy generation projects over 1,000 MWs. Of course, the greatest threat to our unique public power system comes from mega private sector owned electrical generation projects, not individual or small projects. - NeFU President John Hansen

Hansen called the bill “tone deaf,” adding it undermines the state’s unique public power system and takes the public power districts out of the driver’s seat.

“We’re really uncomfortable with handing over the control and the decision making and the power of decision making to private sector interests,” Hansen said.

The Farmers Union’s opposition includes concerns about transparency, as well as worry about data center’s usage of water.

Plus, Hansen added, these power plants will likely use natural gas in some form for generation, something he’s concerned will impact the cost of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer used by Nebraska’s farmers.

“We don’t see how wind and solar gets to be a part of this new paradigm and this new structure because those companies will make decisions based on their company’s interests, not our Nebraska’s economic interests,” Hansen added.

Pillen called the measure “really, really transformative legislation” and said it will help position Nebraska for future economic growth and investment.

Nebraska lawmakers in 2005 required every school district to offer every grade, forcing Class 1 districts, those with on...
06/03/2026

Nebraska lawmakers in 2005 required every school district to offer every grade, forcing Class 1 districts, those with only elementary schools, to merge with larger districts. More than 100 elementary schools closed statewide by 2007. There were 194 Class 1 schools in Nebraska in 2005. When school starts again this fall, there will be five left.

The school board in Scottsbluff blamed a more recent change in state law championed by Gov. Jim Pillen when it voted to shutter Lake Minatare this January. Lawmakers in 2023 limited how much revenue school districts could collect in an effort to reduce property taxes. Scottsbluff administrators said the change forced them to slash millions of dollars and dip into the district’s reserve to stay afloat. They said closing Lake Minatare would save them $750,000 a year.

Most Lake Minatare parents don’t buy the district’s rationale. They accuse school administrators of fudging the numbers and using the law as a scapegoat to shut down the smallest elementary school in a western Nebraska district that wasn’t getting any bigger. They largely blame school administrators and board members, not state lawmakers.

A change to Nebraska law in 2005 nearly wiped out the rural elementary schools that once numbered in the hundreds. But as district leaders closed Lake Minatare School this year, they blamed a new state law.

Spike Jordan does not feel represented by the Nebraska Legislature.“We’re kind of used to being disenfranchised,” Jordan...
06/03/2026

Spike Jordan does not feel represented by the Nebraska Legislature.

“We’re kind of used to being disenfranchised,” Jordan said. “Just naturally by the fact that the legislative session occurs every spring, when we are busy calving."

“It's always been meant to be a system that is not favoring any one producer over the other,” Jordan said. “What they have kind of done is they've created a two-tiered system to where certain producers, because their business model happens to be confined to confined feeding of these animals, now they get a break on this service fee.”

Some western Nebraska ranchers feel lawmakers didn't listen to them when they passed an update to the brand law that increases brand fees, but lowers feedlot fees.

NeFU Member Leo Hoehn is concerned for his community. And that worry grows from empty sugar beet fields.“We are having a...
06/01/2026

NeFU Member Leo Hoehn is concerned for his community. And that worry grows from empty sugar beet fields.

“We are having an incredibly tough year because of the drought,” Hoehn said. “It’s extremely difficult for the farmers. It’s difficult for the community.” Even occasional rain isn’t enough, Hoehn said.

“It’s going to be difficult on the whole region because this is an agricultural area,” Hoehn said. “There won’t be as many people employed by the sugar company.”

Farmers in Nebraska’s Panhandle who rely on irrigation water won’t have enough for their sugar beet crops this year. Many will opt not to plant at all.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistan...
06/01/2026

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue $1.625 billion in payments to eligible specialty crop producers in response to elevated input costs and market disruptions resulting from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impeded specialty crop exports. Producers who have a Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application starting June 1, 2026. Producers who do not have a Login.gov account or prefer to enroll in person at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office can request their prefilled application beginning June 8, 2026. The ASCF enrollment period closes on Aug. 7, 2026. More info is available in the link below:

(Washington, D.C., May 29, 2026) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue $1.625 billion in payments to eligible spec...

Cover crops are lifesavers for Nebraska soil, especially given recent droughts statewide. Olson said farmers themselves ...
06/01/2026

Cover crops are lifesavers for Nebraska soil, especially given recent droughts statewide. Olson said farmers themselves attest to the results.

“We have producers saying that having cover crops on the ground almost shades the soil, which has prevented evaporation.”

Smaller producers, Olson said, might be more inclined to adopt these conservation practices, especially if they’re beginning farmers or are renting the ground from the landowner.

If corporate ag continues to buy up Nebraska acres, the state's ground could suffer.

Address

1305 Plum Street
Lincoln, NE
68502

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 12pm

Telephone

(402) 476-8815

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