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NRD News and Events

NRDs Help Commemorate Arbor Day with Elm Planting at Capitol

Friday, April 24, 2026

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Joined by esteemed guests including Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly and representatives from the Nebraska Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, PlantNebraska, and Arbor Day Foundation, Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs)...

Stream Augmentation Ends, Prevents 2026 Irrigation Shutdowns

Friday, March 27, 2026

Irrigation shutdowns or reductions in the Upper Republican NRD to comply with the Republican River Compact have been avoided by pumping the equivalent of less than 4” per acre at the Rock Creek Augmentation Project in Dundy County.Increasing stream flows in Rock Creek, a t...

Payments Available to Farmers Who Improve Nitrogen Efficiency

Monday, March 16, 2026

Imperial, Neb. – The Upper Republican NRD and other NRDs in Nebraska are administering the Nitrogen Use Efficiency Program (NUE) intended to improve nitrogen-use efficiency during the 2026 crop year using $1 million from the Nebraska Corn Board. Corn farmers hav...

Nebraska Nitrogen Use Efficiency Program Launched for 2026 Growing Season $1 Million Available for Producers who Demonstrate Nitrogen Efficiency

Friday, March 13, 2026

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Agriculture producers have a new opportunity this growing season to earn extra income while cutting fertilizer costs.The Nebraska Corn Board has committed $1 million to a new Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) Program, offering payments to farmers who h...

NARD Elects 2026 Officers

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

LINCOLN, Nebraska – The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) Board of Directors elected new officers during their board meeting March 9, 2026.The NARD Board consists of a representative from each of Nebraska’s 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRDs). The...

Nebraska Receives Three National Conservation Awards at NACD Meeting

Monday, February 23, 2026

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Nebraska conservation leaders were recognized on the national stage during the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) annual meeting hosted Feb. 15-19, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas.During the meeting, Dr. Orval Gigstad of Syracus...

Unsurpassed conservation program crucial in ‘Tree Planters State’

Thursday, February 12, 2026

More than 102 million trees have been planted through Nebraska’s conservation tree program since 1972.Don McCabeNebraska is known as the “Tree Planters State” and the home of Arbor Day, the National Arbor Day Foundation and Arbor Lodge in Nebraska City, arguably the bi...

Slow but Determined Progress Continues to Re-Build at the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey

Thursday, February 5, 2026

BY Doug GrafelAn “overwhelmingly positive” group gathered at the Upper Loup Natural Resource District in Thedford on January 18 to hear about progress being made on the project to re-build at the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey. The original 4-H Campground and fa...

NRDs Renew Agreement with NRCS to Strengthen Long-Standing Conservation Partnership

Monday, February 2, 2026

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) collectively renewed their Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) during a signing ceremony Jan. 27, 2026. The updated agreement r...

Building resilience when rain can't be trusted

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

By Renata Rimšaitė, PhDJanuary 28, 2026A rainfed-crop grower from Illinois who can no longer rely on the sky to deliver steady yields describes a well-timed storm: “[It’s] a million-dollar rain.”Rainfall’s value is hard to overstate. When it arrives in the right am...

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Regional/National Water News

A private water company is leading a $150 million rush for Northern Colorado groundwater

12/23/2025

by Jerd Smith A private development company is investing $150 million in an ambitious plan to harvest groundwater lying beneath sprawling northern Colorado ranches to serve fast-growing towns along the Interstate 25 corridor. FrontRange H2O, backed by a Texas oil and real...Read more

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation invests over $33M in drought resiliency projects in the West

07/07/2025

The Bureau of Reclamation is announcing $33.5 million for 14 projects to improve drought resiliency through water treatment, new or improved infrastructure, and implementation of new water management tools and technology . The projects are located in California, Nebraska,...Read more

‘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