Case Study: Food Security Nebraska

Nebraska is a Major World Food Exporter Farms and ranches use 92% of state’s total land area (45.3 million acres) 49,600 farms (2013) Average: 913 acres (369 ha) net income/farm $113K (av. 2009-2013) 2nd in ethanol production nationally-38% of state’s corn production 8th nationally in certified organic cropland, 8th in certified organic rangeland #1 in meat export, largest meat packer in world # 3 corn producer #3 US dry edible bean production #5 US sugar beet production #5 in US soybean production #6 in US pork production #10 US egg production #12 in US wheat production #26 US milk production, majority family arms 3 million acres alfalfa and hay, feeding livestock 44% of cropland is irrigated (2012) Agricultural Exports: $6.6 billion Source: http://www.nda.nebraska.gov/facts.pdf) Image: CC0 1.0 Universal, Public Domain

Water Use in Nebraska Leads the country in number of irrigated acres (8,297,457 acres) Leads the country in acre-feet of water applied (8,069,039 acre- feet) The bulk of irrigation in Nebraska is pumped from wells.* On an average per-irrigated acre basis, the rate of application in Nebraska in 2008 was less than 10 inches – in contrast to about 34 inches in California, 23 inches in Arkansas, and 16 inches in Texas.* Irrigated field, Central Nebraska source: https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation_Survey/; * Johnson et al. 2011.

Nebraska Agriculture- Rich Soils and Irrigation Waters Agriculture - $21 billion industry annually; from small fruit and vegetable farms to large-scale (1000’s acres) cattle ranches Rich prairie soils Ogallala Aquifer for irrigation Nebraska is 4th largest user of groundwater(after CA, T and AK) Off 55 million acres irrigated nationally, 15% are in Nebraska 8.5 million acres of Nebraska crops and pastureland are irrigated Source: USGS) Data from: http://agecon.unl.edu/a9fcd902-4da9-4c3f-9e04-c8b56a9b22c7.pdf

Corn Production There are 23,000 corn farmers across the state, producing six times more corn than in the 1920s. In 2012, 9.1 million acres were utilized for corn production in Nebraska. More than 1.2 billion bushels were harvested in 2012, making Nebraska the third largest corn producing state in the nation. Today’s corn farmers grow 87 percent more corn per ounce of fertilizer than they did 30 years ago and have cut erosion by 44 percent through new tillage practices. Nebraska is home to 25 operating ethanol plants that use corn to produce more than 1.2 billion gallons of ethanol each year, making Nebraska the second largest ethanol producing state in the nation. Corn field near Ogallala, NE Sept 2012, during extreme drought. What is expected in this region resulting from climate change?

Local Food More than 60 years ago, Nebraska shifted its emphasis from growing food for local use to an industrial model providing large quantities of specialized crops for export to the rest of the US and the world. The state is #4 nationally for agricultural production. Some of the food produced feeds livestock or is used to produce ethanol and biodiesel. About half of the produce for Nebraskans comes from the Central Valley, CA. $4 billion of the $4.5 billion spent on food in Nebraska leaves the state. The number of Nebraska produce growers has increased 700 percent over the past decade from 78 in 2000 to 552 in 2011. •• Nebraska’s produce industry contributes an estimated $66 million in sales to the state’s economy every year.

Food Deserts Disappearing Rural Grocery Stores in the Great Plains Large food chains often outcompete small food stores USDA identified 803 counties in the US where half the population or more live 10 or more miles from a grocery store. The Great Plains has the highest concentration of food desert counties in the country. Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas

Things to think about… How will climate change in Nebraska impact global food security? What is the role of food production and the role of food distribution in determining food access in rural Nebraska? What role will biofuel production in Nebraska impact food security? Would changing the varieties of products produced have an impact on food security? What is the role of industrialized farming in Nebraska? Are there differences in production strategies and values between industrialized farms and family farms? Other? Cornfield blighted by drought, Central Nebraska, 2012.

Credits Reference cited: Bailey, J. 2010 Rural Grocery Stores: Importance and Challenges. Research and Analysis Program, Center for Rural Affairs. http://files.cfra.org/pdf/rural-grocery-stores.pdf Haspel, T. 2014 Small vs. large: Which size farm is better for the planet? Washington Post, September 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/small-vs-large-which-size-farm-is-better-for-the-planet/2014/08/29/ac2a3dc8-2e2d-11e4-994d-202962a9150c_story.html Johnson, B., Thompson, C., Giri A,. And NewKirk, S. 2011 Nebraska Irrigation Fact Sheet. http://agecon.unl.edu/a9fcd902-4da9-4c3f-9e04-c8b56a9b22c7.pdf MacDonald, J. 2014 Family farming in the US. USDA Economic Research Service. http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2014-march/family-farming-in-the-united-states.aspx#.ViMYLaR0zL4 Nebraska Department of Agriculture (nd) Nebraska Agriculture. http://www.nda.nebraska.gov/publications/ne_ag_facts_brochure.pdf USDA (nd). Food Access Research Atlas. Economic Research Service. http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas.asp This slide stack developed for inclusion in module, “Addressing the Wicked Problem of Global Food Security,”- Russanne Low (September 2015). Photographs by author.