State administrator talks taxes, water at local Farm Bureau annual meeting

Nebraska Farm Bureau Chief Administrator Rob Robertson spoke on the organization's commitment to agriculture and what it was doing to overcome challenges in the state at last Thursday's annual meeting of the Kimball-Banner County Farm Bureau.

Robertson, who last visited Kimball County in 1993, said the success of the Farm Bureau comes from its members and grassroots support. There are 85 chapters statewide and there are currently 247 members in the Kimball-Banner County chapter.

"I think what makes us a difference-maker in the advocacy world, the lobby world, in what we do to tell agriculture's story is basically we are a grassroots organization," he said. "There isn't any other organization in the state that can say they have 85 organized local chapters or local Farm Bureaus. It's our grassroots system...that makes us better than the rest."

Robertson's talk on Thursday centered on the basics of the organization. He said the Farm Bureau is the "trusted voice of farm and ranch families" and the groups tackles issues that are facing farmers and ranchers. He said the group faces an uphill battle in the state legislature, because 25 of the 49 state senators come from three counties surrounding the Omaha and Lincoln areas.

"We have a lot to work on," he said.

Two of the most important issues facing farmers and ranchers are property taxes and water. Robertson said property taxes are hurting rural areas because money is not spent locally, but instead sent to Lincoln and Omaha.

"There's a major tax problem going on in the state. It's not Lincoln and Omaha sending their money out here, we're sending our money out there to help fund schools right now," he said. "Fifty percent of the schools, 60 percent of the schools don't receive any state aid for their school system anymore. That means we pay it all ourselves. But we also pay income and sales taxes to feed into the state aid program, so Lincoln and Omaha schools can get their computers and get their needs for their school district. So there's a major tax problem going on."

Since a majority of state senators come from areas that are not very rural, Robertson said the organization must find other ways to leverage the situation and lobby on behalf of its members. He said the Farm Bureau has two full-time lobbyists at the state capitol full-time, and adds others on a part-time basis when issues demand it.

Robertson also touched on water issues.

"It seems like every year there's new challenges on the water policy front," he said. "More or less, we have to protect that resource for future generations. It's the lifeblood of agriculture throughout the state. But how do you protect it, how do you make sure we're not overusing groundwater? How do we make sure that the sustainable use program for groundwater is a big deal in the state, and it's a big deal for individual NRDs, but it's also a big deal when Lincoln and Omaha start worrying about their wells."

Looking to the future, Robertson said the organization could not do things on its own and must increase membership.

"We can't do it alone. We have to do it collectively and be a collective force uniting people together so farmers and ranchers can be heard," he said.

Robertson said Farm Bureau is looking at new ways to increase membership, and has hired someone at the state level to help in that effort. One additional effort includes the newly formed Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, which sponsors various programs throughout the state. Some of those programs include Ag in the Classroom and scholarships. He said education is the key, especially among those in the state whose families have been away from the farm for three, four or five generations.

Robertson answered questions on various topics after his talk. He said the Nebraska Farm Bureau supports the Keystone Pipeline and reached out to help the Colorado Farm Bureau in an effort to prevent labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) on products from becoming law. He said the Nebraska Farm Bureau will prepare in case a similar ballot initiative is launched here. Robertson also said many areas are having issues transporting crops via trains due to a surplus, although he said he was not aware it was as bad as it is here.

Locally, the Kimball-Banner County Farm Bureau passed 12 resolutions, elected officers and also elected delegates to the state convention. Donna Johnson was re-elected as president, Linda Halstead was re-elected as vice president, and Rick Perry was re-elected as treasurer and the third member of the board. Johnson, Perry and Mark Miller will serve as delegates to the state convention.