During the week of March 16-22, I encourage all Nebraskans to celebrate National Ag Week.
Each year this celebration provides us with an opportunity to pay tribute to our hard working,
dedicated farmers and ranchers, while raising awareness of how important the Nebraska
agricultural industry is to our state, nation, and world.
This year, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture has selected "Nebraska Agriculture: See Us Grow!" as the theme for our celebration. We picked this particular theme because the phrase "See Us Grow" holds so many different meanings for Nebraska agriculture over the past couple of years.
For example, our industry continues to grow its contribution to the state's economy, contributing over $12 billion last year. Agriculture also continues to grow jobs, with one of three jobs in our state being tied to the agricultural industry. At the beginning of the decade, that number stood at one of four jobs.
Our scope of production has broadened, particularly in the past couple of years, from producing quality food and fiber to producing quality food, fiber and fuel. Nebraska's ethanol industry reached a new benchmark in the past year. With twenty operating ethanol plants with a production capacity of 1.3 billion gallons, Nebraska has become the number two ethanol producing state in the nation. Additional research will help refine the corn-ethanol model so that our industry can grow and become more efficient in the future.
Technological changes also have made a huge impact on agriculture's growth. Genetic improvements to commodity crops have enhanced key traits, improved drought tolerance, and lead to fantastic improvements in yield potential. This technology allows our farmers the opportunity to increase production of crops while using less inputs and maintaining acres.
Our production levels aren't the only thing growing the economy. The global demand for high quality agricultural products also is opening new doors for Nebraska. The island nation of Cuba is a good example. Over the past two and half years, our state exports to Cuba have grown from zero to $70 million. In addition, last fall Nebraska signed letters of intent for the sale of $400 million worth of Nebraska beef, corn, soybeans, and wheat to Taiwan. We've also grown markets in Hong Kong, where we've sold beef to a large restaurant chain and signed agreements to make our beef the featured beef at a major hotel. With a growing middle class in many areas of the world, we expect the demand for quality Nebraska agricultural products will continue to expand in the future.
As you gather around your table for your evening dinner, take a moment look at the food on your plate. Do you recognize any of it as being grown in Nebraska? Then think about all the various ways that Nebraska's other types of agricultural "growth" positively affect you.
Please take a moment this week to thank our farmers and ranchers for their contributions to our great state.
National Ag WEEK with Governor Heineman
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*An electronic photo of Director Ibach is available by emailing: christin.kamm@nebraska.gov or calling (402)
471-6856.