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Farmers say next Nebraska governor should make ag issues top priority

Nebraska farmers say whoever is the state’s next governor needs to understand the challenges producers face.

Brady Revels is an account manager for dairy operations with Cargill and says the six gubernatorial candidates who participated in NEFB’s ag issues forum have a plan to address his top concern: property taxes.

He tells Brownfield it prevents the dairy industry from growing. “I have a number of customers that have moved here from California and while their overall tax burden in California was higher, on a percentage basis, they’re paying double or triple the same percent of what they were in California and if we’re going to be competitive on a global market, we have to remove some of those barriers for our producers.”

But, farmer Kevin Peterson from Osceola says the candidates didn’t address immigration labor reforms.

He tells Brownfield he’s seeing the effects of labor shortages in his swine operation. “The workload continues to trickle down to other folks.  I think that’s a huge issue and with the size of the towns and the work that needs to be done. It’s not perfect, but I do think we have to search out immigrant labor to do some of those jobs.”

The republican gubernatorial candidates who participated were Michael Connely, Charles W. Herbster, Brett Lindstrom, Jim Pillen, Breland Ridenour, and Theresa Thibodeau.