1st Annual Northeast Nebraska Ag Conference Was A Huge Success
Nearly 300 people gathered for the Northeast Nebraska Ag Conference held at the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College on December 17th, 2024. Attendees from Nebraska and surrounding states gathered to hear from a great lineup of speakers.

Rick Clark, of Williamsport, IN Kicked off the conference with his keynote address “Increasing Farm Profits with Conservation”. Rick showcased how he has reduced expensive inputs and increased profits on his operation. Rick is moving towards organic no-till on his farm and discussed the realities of both the successes, and the challenges, of making this system work.

There were numerous options for concurrent breakout sessions where attendees could select the sessions attended based on the topics that would best serve their farms and ranches. Speakers covered items of interest that ranged from equipment set-up for successful no-till to total crop system redesigns that include grazing livestock on cropland.

In one session, Jason Mauck, of Gaston, IN, shared his passion for “farming weird” - including the way he views sunlight as a limiting factor in traditional systems, and the stock-cropper he co-developed to graze animals in growing crops.

Another session highlighted a value-added products panel - a group of Nebraskans who are adding value to products by taking them to retail, finding local added-value markets, or using unique “livestock” to produce additional products from the same crops. The panel discussed ideas on how to create more income on their acres.

Wrapping up the day, a panel of local northeast Nebraska farmers discussed how they are making conservation farming work locally. Junior Pfanstiel, Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD); Jeff Steffen, Lewis & Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD); Curt Morrow, Lower Niobrara Natural Resources District (LNNRD); and Art Tanderup Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District (UENRD) discussed their operations, how they are implementing different practices, and the economics of their systems.

The Northeast Nebraska Ag Conference was co-hosted by the Bow Creek Watershed Project (Lewis & Clark NRD) and the Bazile Groundwater Management Area (LCNRD, LENRD, LNNRD, and UENRD), Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, Nebraska Strategic Ag Coalition, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Partners include Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy / EPA, Nebraska Extension, Nebraska Environmental Trust, UNL and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The Committee is already hard at work preparing for the second annual Northeast Nebraska Ag Conference planned for December 2025.
 

The BGMA Project is an ongoing joint effort of the Lewis and Clark, Lower Niobrara, Lower Elkhorn, Upper Elkhorn NRDs, and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, to curb the rise in nitrate concentrations. By offering educational opportunities, establishing demonstration sites, and offering cost-share on select Best Management Practices (BMPs), one of the Project’s goals is widespread adoption of BMPs across the area. BMPs give the producer more efficient control over inputs while reducing the environmental impact. If anyone is interested in adding BMPs to their operations, contact BGMA Coordinator Lisa Lauver at 402- 371-7313 or llauver@lenrd.org, or your local NRCS office.

The Bow Creek Watershed Project (BCWP) focuses on addressing high levels of E. coli in the streams of the watershed that impact recreation and other uses. Stream sampling conducted by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE), as part of routine Basin Rotation water quality testing, consistently shows elevated levels of sediment, phosphorus, nitrates and E. coli in Bow Creek. BCWP provides cost share and education programs designed to decrease nonpoint source pollutants in Bow Creek by increasing the adoption of best management practices (BMPs) in priority Bow Creek sub-watersheds. The BCWP is administered by the Lewis & Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD). For more information about the project contact BCWP Coordinator Becky Ravenkamp at 402-254-6758 or bravenkamp@lcnrd.org.