Ag-Life

David Vetter (right), CEO of Grain Place Foods, leads a tour of the organic farm near Marquette during a Field Day in 2023. Tours of both the farm and the processing facility will be part of the morning session of the 2026 Field Day on July 18.

David Vetter (right), CEO of Grain Place Foods, leads a tour of the organic farm near Marquette during a Field Day in 2023. Tours of both the farm and the processing facility will be part of the morning session of the 2026 Field Day on July 18.

Soil health to be front & center at GPF Field Day

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
A panel discussion on the connection between soil, human and community health will be just one of the highlights of the Grain Place Foundation’s (GPF) annual Field Day coming up on Saturday, July 18.
Emma Bullerman admits that there was a period where she thought she wanted to get out of Nebraska. Through her work at Prairie Plains, she’s come to fall back in love with her home state and is committed to following in her father’s footsteps to keep its ecosystems healthy.

Emma Bullerman admits that there was a period where she thought she wanted to get out of Nebraska. Through her work at Prairie Plains, she’s come to fall back in love with her home state and is committed to following in her father’s footsteps to keep its ecosystems healthy.

Bullerman follows family legacy into Nebraska’s prairies

News Staff
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Emma Bullerman is spending her summer riding around in fields with her dad, and she’s thrilled about it. It’s not just for fun, either — she’s interning for the Prairie Plains Resource Institute and working alongside her father, Mike, to conserve Nebraska grasslands.
Brian Brhel’s cattle graze on cover crops turning a row crop field into a temporary pasture meadow. (Photo by Brian Brhel)

Brian Brhel’s cattle graze on cover crops turning a row crop field into a temporary pasture meadow. (Photo by Brian Brhel)

More than a lease: The landlord-tenant relationship

News Staff
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
At the local diner in Denton, Brian Brhel shares a booth with his new landlord. They dig into their burgers and break the ice on their new working relationship.Brian is a Nebraska Soil Health Coalition producer lead.
The flowing waterway in this corn field north of Aurora on Thursday morning shows evidence of the 1.5 inches of rain that fell overnight as reported at the airport. That was in addition to the estimated 2 inches of precipitation received earlier in the week. Researchers say it’s not how much rain that fell on an acre of farm ground that counts as much as how much of it was retained by the soil. Studies show that healthy soil practices can increase corn yields by up to 25 bushels per acre.

The flowing waterway in this corn field north of Aurora on Thursday morning shows evidence of the 1.5 inches of rain that fell overnight as reported at the airport. That was in addition to the estimated 2 inches of precipitation received earlier in the week. Researchers say it’s not how much rain that fell on an acre of farm ground that counts as much as how much of it was retained by the soil. Studies show that healthy soil practices can increase corn yields by up to 25 bushels per acre.

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‘Yes, but how much rain did you keep?’

News Staff
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Ask a producer “How much rain did you get” and he’ll tell you, usually followed with a “but.” It will be either, “but we need more as it’s been dry” or “but it came too fast and most of it ran off.”What really matters is “how much rain did you keep.
This wetland along J Road and just south of Highway 34 near the Giltner Spur has been filled up by recent rains to the point that, by one estimate, more than 100 acres is now underwater.

This wetland along J Road and just south of Highway 34 near the Giltner Spur has been filled up by recent rains to the point that, by one estimate, more than 100 acres is now underwater.

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Recent rains ease drought concerns locally

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
While all of Hamilton County remained in the D2 Severe Drought category this week according to the latest National Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, frequent and sometimes abundant rain showers over the past several weeks have added inches of moisture locally.
David Haupt has joined the Center for Agricultural Profitability as a financial analyst, offering free, confidential one-on-one consultations to help Nebraska farmers and ranchers evaluate financial decisions and strengthen their business plans.

David Haupt has joined the Center for Agricultural Profitability as a financial analyst, offering free, confidential one-on-one consultations to help Nebraska farmers and ranchers evaluate financial decisions and strengthen their business plans.

NE Extension to provide farm financial analysis

News Staff
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability and Nebraska Extension have announced the hiring of David Haupt as a financial analyst to offer free, one-on-one consultations with Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers navigating complex financial situations.
A wealth of research has linked protein to favorable lifestyle markers such as healthy body weight and/or weight loss, maintaining and building muscle, and overall diet satisfaction. Plus Nebraska-raised beef is simply delicious.

A wealth of research has linked protein to favorable lifestyle markers such as healthy body weight and/or weight loss, maintaining and building muscle, and overall diet satisfaction. Plus Nebraska-raised beef is simply delicious.

Beef Month: The proven power of beef’s protein

News Staff
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Editor’s note: As noted in last week’s Ag Life article on the challenges and opportunities in the beef industry right now, beef itself is more in demand than ever, even in a time of rising prices at the meat counter.
Local feedlot owner Preston Franzen stands near the feeding bunk of a pen of feeder calves at his Franzen Feeders yards near Stockham. As a former Western Nebraska ranch kid and now the president of the York-Hamilton County Cattlemen, he loves to talk about the challenges, opportunities and future of the beef industry.

Local feedlot owner Preston Franzen stands near the feeding bunk of a pen of feeder calves at his Franzen Feeders yards near Stockham. As a former Western Nebraska ranch kid and now the president of the York-Hamilton County Cattlemen, he loves to talk about the challenges, opportunities and future of the beef industry.

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Cattlemen president talks beef’s challenges, opportunities

Ron Burtz
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
With continually rising demand for beef among consumers worldwide and consistently high prices for beef at the grocery store, one might think anyone involved in the cattle industry would be riding high right now.
Ethan Freese uses a tool called a drip torch to drop burning fuel into the dry grass at Gjerloff Prairie on April 30 as part of a controlled burn.

Ethan Freese uses a tool called a drip torch to drop burning fuel into the dry grass at Gjerloff Prairie on April 30 as part of a controlled burn.

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PPRI conducts control burn on Gjerloff Prairie

Kurt Johnson
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Fire and grazing are considered important management tools for Prairie Plains Resource Institute and for other organizations involved in prairie conservation, thus recent rains have provided the green light necessary to proceed with cautionary control burn plans.
Sarah Bailey, PPRI’s conservation and education director, helps with a control burn April 30 on the Gjerloff Prairie west of Marquette.

Sarah Bailey, PPRI’s conservation and education director, helps with a control burn April 30 on the Gjerloff Prairie west of Marquette.

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PPRI conducts control burn on Gjerloff Prairie

News Staff
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Fire and grazing are considered important management tools for Prairie Plains Resource Institute and for other organizations involved in prairie conservation, thus recent rains have provided the green light necessary to proceed with cautionary control burn plans.