Growing Nebraska’s economic base through agriculture is not
solely about growing crops or raising livestock. Nebraska has a manufacturing
sector that is closely tied to agriculture – and that creates thousands of jobs
and billions of dollars in economic activity.
Nebraska is the second largest ethanol producer in the nation.
But that industry would not have grown here if not for the state’s ability to
produce corn and cattle.
Nebraska is typically first or second in the nation in terms
of cattle on feed and beef processing. The state is second in ethanol
production and third in corn production.
“That’s not an accident,” said Ken Lemke, an economist with
the Nebraska Public Power District. “It all comes together because there is a
symbiotic relationship between those three sectors – and Nebraska is blessed to
have a robust presence in all three.”
Nebraska’s ethanol plants have created more than 1,300
full-time jobs, with thousands more jobs created in related sectors. “The
ethanol industry has been very positive, but it has also created additional investment
that is staying local,” said Dave Behle, key accounts and economic development
manager with Dawson Public Power. “Feedlots, dairies, pork production,
trucking, feed mills – all that money stays in the community and that is huge.”
The Cargill plant at Blair was the world’s first to
transform corn into polylactic acid (PLA), which is used to make compostable
bioplastics. Consider as well that the world’s top echelon of pivot irrigation
companies are all headquartered in Nebraska, which makes sense given that the
technology itself was created here – and the fact that Nebraska has more
irrigated acres than any other state. That is also a reason that Nebraska is
one of the top locations for seed genetic companies to develop new hybrids and
varieties.
Nebraska is home to companies that manufacture everything
from tillage equipment to fertilizers; from combines to plastic pivot tires;
from grain bins to cattle fencing.
“We have a new $1.2 million truck washing facility here in
Lexington and it’s the only facility on the interstate for cattle trucks
between Denver and Omaha,” said Jennifer Wolf, economic development director in
Dawson County. “We have a high-tech company that purchases blood from the Tyson
beef processing facility in Lexington and extracts the iron to make iron
supplements. Without a thriving livestock industry, we wouldn’t have spin-off
businesses like this that lead to new investment and jobs right here.”
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