Reports & Publications

Nebraska's energy future can be a bright one. Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) can choose to invest in clean, sustainable energy options that grow our communities.

Everyone needs health coverage to see a doctor when they get sick or injured. But right now, about 97,000 Nebraskans have no way to get affordable health insurance. They make too little money to afford private insurance, but they also don’t qualify for Medicaid. These people are stuck with no solution in what we call “the coverage gap.”

Inside this Issue: Farm Girl Journal Captures the Unfettered Joy of Growing Up on a Farm, Wind Turbines Bring Economic Development Dollars to a Small Town in Minnesota, and more.

The Center for Rural Affairs along with Mike Duffy, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Iowa State University, will release a report that explores the impact subsidized crop insurance places on land values. Duffy’s research shows that subsidized crop insurance indeed has an impact on land values. He...

We tried something new for our latest annual report. We created a calendar to illustrate month-by-month the accomplishments you helped us achieve in the last year. From starting new businesses to to stewarding our land and water, to transforming the food our children eat, your donations and your...

Nebraska is one of 17 states not adopting Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. This has left more than 79,000 individuals in a “coverage gap.” Each individual covered through an expanded Medicaid program could save $1,100 on out-of-pocket health costs each year. When spent locally...

Inside this Issue: Strengthening Communities through Welcoming and Inclusion, REAP Achieves Top 10 Position in National Lending, and more.

Hear three stories of how Nebraska farmers made the school connection in farm to school. Justin Jones, President of Lone Tree Foods, shares how Lone Tree connects food producers to eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa schools. Food Service Director of Pius X schools, Tini Van-Oehlertz shares her...

Welcome to this special edition of our newsletter, focusing on farm to school.

This webinar, designed for Nebraska food producers, discussed key points for farmers and ranchers to consider when you work with schools as a market opportunity. You get to walk in a food service director’s shoes with Donna Handley, School Lunch Program Specialist with the Nebraska Department of...

We kicked off our first of three Farm to School webinars by listening to three Nebraska food service staff. They shared how and why they have participated in local food procurement and farm to school activities. The stories ranged from scratch cooking techniques and working with local farmers and...

During the last farm bill debate, we heard Congressional leaders say, farmers don’t get a check, they get a bill for their crop insurance. While that statement may be true, it’s also true that crop insurance is heavily subsidized, providing unlimited premium subsidies to the nation’s largest and...

This issue brief anchored a project to create a food policy council for Nebraska. It is intended to get you thinking about the opportunities and challenges to be faced in developing food policy councils. The data is Nebraska-specific, but you can use the structure and ideas to tackle the same quest in your location.

During the debate over the 2014 Farm Bill, members of Congress touted the saving to taxpayers that would result from doing away with direct payment to farmers, replacing it with an insurance like farm program, and having federally subsidized crop insurance take over the role of providing a safety...

On April 1, 2015, Dr. Allan Jenkins, Professor of Economics at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Dr. Ron Konecny, Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, released "Nebraska Medicaid Expansion: Protecting a Critical Infrastructure, Supporting Main Street, Improving...

On April 1, 2015, Dr. Allan Jenkins, Professor of Economics at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Dr. Ron Konecny, Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, released "Nebraska Medicaid Expansion: Protecting a Critical Infrastructure, Supporting Main Street, Improving...

In this report, we outline best practices for developing local and regional food systems in the state. First-hand information came from interviews we conducted with individuals, organizations, and institutions involved in the production, marketing, and usage of local food. They are documented...

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is an example of a social safety net, anti-poverty effort, the usage of which varies by place of residence. This brief uses data from the Internal Revenue Service on usage of the EITC, and compares overall usage with U.S. Census Bureau geographic classifications...

A review of recent data shows that a significant number of households across the nation received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) benefits. Large numbers of households in metropolitan, small city, and rural areas received SNAP benefits. This brief uses...

This Brief is part of a series examining socio-economic aspects of the 2010 Census for the Great Plains and parts of the Midwest. This is the third in a series of briefs examining data from the 2010 Census.