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NRD News and Events

Governor Pillen Declares Emergency, Mobilizes Nebraska National Guard and Issues Statewide Burn Ban Following Fire in Brown County

Thursday, April 24, 2025

LINCOLN, NE – Governor Jim Pillen has authorized the Nebraska National Guard to mobilize 29 soldiers and airmen to assist local volunteer fire departments, which are currently battling the Plum Creek Fire near Johnstown, Nebraska, in Brown County. Nebraska Army Nation...

Large Solar-Energy Proposal On NCORPE To Be Presented To NRD Board

Monday, February 10, 2025

The Upper Republican NRD Board of Directors will be presented with plans for a solar-energy project on NCORPE land in Lincoln County in advance of a final NCORPE vote on the project expected Feb. 19. The public is invited to attend and provide input.If approved by the NCORPE...

URNRD Launches 2025 Probe Cost Share Program

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Applications to receive cost share for soil-moisture probes used in 2025 are now being accepted by the Upper Republican NRD. Under the program, irrigators in Perkins, Dundy and Chase Counties are reimbursed for half the cost of up to three soil-moisture probes.Use of soil-mo...

Luncheon, Meeting Will Inform Farmers of Nitrogen Management and Payments

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Imperial, Neb. – A free luncheon and meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Jan. 10 at the Nutrien building at the Chase County Fairgrounds to inform farmers of state payments available for reducing nitrogen applications, and technologies and products to help them achiev...

NDEE accepting applications for ONE RED Irrigation Engine Program

Thursday, November 14, 2024

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) announces the opening of the 2024-2025 ONE RED Irrigation Engine Program. Applications are now being accepted for rebates to assist farmers with the replacement of agricultural irrigation pump d...

NRDs Now Taking Orders for Spring Tree Seedlings

Friday, November 1, 2024

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) are now accepting orders for conservation tree seedlings for spring planting. By ordering early, you can secure your preferred species and make a lasting contribution to the environment.Since 1972, Nebrask...

NRD Hall of Fame Inductees Announced at Husker Harvest Days

Monday, September 16, 2024

Three individuals honored for conservation workLINCOLN, Nebraska – During Husker Harvest Days Wednesday, Sept. 11, Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) recognized three individuals, who will be inducted into the NRD Hall of Fame later this month.“Nebraska...

USDA Providing Funds to Protect and Restore Agricultural Working Lands, Grasslands and Wetlands across Nebraska

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Applications due October 4, November 15, and December 20, 2024 at USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Offices.September 4, 2024 – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is now accepting applications for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program...

A Nebraska Solution

Friday, July 5, 2024

By Kris PollyNebraska’s Legislative Bill 962, passed in 2004, was a decisive step toward better water management—and it is one that other states can learn from. In this month’s cover story, we speak with Tom Riley, the director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Res...

USDA Reminds Nebraska Producers to File Crop Acreage Reports

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Lincoln, Nebraska, June 18, 2024 – Agricultural producers in Nebraska should make an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office as soon as possible to complete crop acreage reports before the applicable deadline after planting is complete. The...

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Regional/National Water News

‘Time for a reckoning.’ Kansas farmers brace for water cuts to save Ogallala Aquifer.

06/13/2024

After decades of local inaction, Kansas lawmakers are pushing for big changes in irrigation. BY: KEVIN HARDY AND ALLISON KITE - THURSDAY JUNE 13, 2024 JETMORE, Kan. — An inch or two of corn peeks out of the dirt, just enough to reveal long rows forming over the horizon...Read more

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Facts Related to Drinking Water

05/23/2024

By Becky Schuerman, Domestic Water/Wastewater Extension Associate In March of 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new limits on six types of PFAS in drinking water. Of the thousands of PFAS in use, these six are believed to be the most prevalent in...Read more

Let wetland do its job: Filter water

03/28/2024

This landowner devised a unique way to filter water leaving his farmland. Tom J. Bechman , Editor, Indiana Prairie Farmer March 28, 2024 Using wetlands to filter out sediment, nutrients and other materials from water is not a new idea. Natural wetlands have performed this...Read more

A warm winter and lingering drought could set up a tough growing season in the Midwest

03/11/2024

By Kate Grumke | Harvest Public Media As planting season approaches for farmers across the Midwest, large parts of many states are still in a drought. The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows the upper Mississippi River from Minnesota to Missouri is surrounded...Read more

Finding profitability in cover crops

02/01/2024

Researchers testing whether crops could serve as a renovation tool for hayfields. By Katie Shockley Cover crops and their potential benefits have created widespread interest among producers, yet little data exists to show if diverse cover crops could serve as a successful...Read more

More Midwest states are moving to block foreign ownership of farmland in 2024

02/01/2024

KCUR | By Kate Grumke Published January 22, 2024 at 4:00 AM CST At least 21 states are considering legislation to block foreign companies and individuals from purchasing farmland. The issue has gained momentum in recent years. Worries over foreign ownership of U.S. farmland...Read more

Colorado pledges to play nice as Nebraska plows ahead on $628M canal at the state line

01/18/2024

Though details remain sparse on the new South Platte River project, local water users say, for now, the cornhuskers are entitled to their fair share of the river By: Jerd Smith Nebraska is moving quickly to build a major canal that will take water from the drought-strapped...Read more

Owner of prairie seed farm and a state senator say regulations needed for CO2 pipelines

01/17/2024

Unlike adjacent South Dakota and Iowa, Nebraska lacks state regulations for pipeline routes, setbacks BY: PAUL HAMMEL LINCOLN — On a farm near Western that includes a remnant of the tall-grass prairie that once covered eastern Nebraska, Kay Kottas makes her living...Read more

America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow

10/10/2023

GLOBAL WARMING HAS FOCUSED concern on land and sky as soaring temperatures intensify hurricanes, droughts and wildfires. But another climate crisis is unfolding, underfoot and out of view. Many of the aquifers that supply 90 percent of the nation’s water systems, and which...Read more

Nebraska Water Center researchers conduct statewide project to characterize nitrogen transformation beneath ground surface

08/12/2023

Surface soil, the deeper vadose zone, and groundwater are all interconnected and of particular importance due to Nebraska’s agricultural practices and reliance on groundwater for multiple uses. The vadose zone refers to the unsaturated zone above the water table, where...Read more