Producer Information
Connect with local producers who are dedicated to conservation and sustainable farming. Share experiences, learn new practices, and collaborate to improve land and water health across Nebraska.
Alex Daake
- Seward County
Information about the producer will be provided when it’s available.
Alex McKiernan
- Lancaster & Pawnee County
- Grazing management infrastructure (fencing, water, software)
- Woody encroachment vs. woody forage
- Multi-species grazing
- Commodity vs. direct-market sales opportunities
- Transitioning crop ground to perennial pasture
- Managing/grazing cover crops
Brian Brhel
- Lancaster County
Brian Brhel uses plants and animals to achieve nutrient release and improve his soils one hoof at a time. Grazing is an important part of the system and income source. Cover crop seed production also helps meet these goals and keeps the rotation diverse and seed that “knows” his soils.
Read Brian’s story on Balancing Soil Health and Cash Flow!
Chris Trumler
- Sherman County
I started ranching after graduating for UNL , with a degree in Animal Science, in 1994. I am a first generation rancher. With a lot of hard work and preservation and having to work a job, off the ranch. I was able to grow and expand our ranch. My jobs included working for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commision, as a conservation technician for the wildlife division and then working for the USDA as a beef grader.I have combined all that I learned for college and from my previous jobs, to form the land and wildlife conservation practices and stewardship, that I practice to this day. I currently run a cow/calf herd , as well as running yearlings. I start calving June 1 and then wean the calves and put them on grass, as yearlings, before selling them. This allows me to best utilize and match the cows nutritional needs, with the highest nutrition, from the grass. I also no till farm, alfalfa, soybeans and corn, on pivot,gravity and subsurface drip irrigation, as well dry land acres. I apply manure on some of the acres and plant cover crops on other fields.I have converted some dry land acres to native range and plan on enrolling more into the Conservation Reserve Program.All of the pastures are cross fenced, and watered by windmills, solar wells and pipelines. I fence off all access to ponds and streams. This improves the water quality, and habitat around these water bodies, while making the cattle drink cold, clear water, from stock tanks.I also use a flushbar on the windrower and cut the hay using a design that allows wildlife an escape route, so they don’t have to cross barren ground to get to other edge cover. I have planted many miles of shelter belt trees, for both cattle winter protection and habitat for wildlife. These are fenced off to protect the trees from cattle rubbing on them. Almost all the practices I implement, benefit both the cattle and the wildlife.
Clay Govier
- Custor County
Information about the producer will be provided when it’s available.
Dan Stelling
- Pierce County
Information about the producer will be provided when it’s available.
Daryl Obermeyer
- Nemaha County
Corn, soybeans, and cattle pasture
50 years of experience with conservation practices
No-till, field borders, pollinator habitat, cover crops, grazing cover crops, rotational grazing
Conservation Stewardship Program
Dennis Demmel
- Keith County
Information about the producer will be provided when it’s available.
Greg Keller
- Platte County
Information about the producer will be provided when it’s available.
Homer Buell
- Rock County
Benjamin Franklin Buell and his wife Harriet established Shovel Dot Ranch in 1883. Benjamin, a cigar maker and schoolteacher from Michigan, first saw the Sandhills when traveling to Washington and so liked the area that he moved here in 1882. Benjamin was known as a keen businessman with a vision of the development of the cattle industry in Nebraska. Each generation to follow, Homer and Cecelia, Bernard and Susan, Jan and Don Lear, Roger and Sue, Homer and Darla, Larry and Nick, Chad and Tricia, and Devon Nelson, five in total, have all strived to make Shovel Dot, the land and the cattle, the best that it could and can be. The ranch is at present a partnership of Homer and Darla Buell and their son Chad and his wife Tricia and their 4 children. The ranch, which is a good mixture of hay meadows and pastureland, covers about 15,000 acres with and a backgrounding operation being the primary enterprise. Whether it be managing the land, the cattle, or the people their information system is second to none. Homer Buell is the fourth-generation co-owner of the Shovel Dot Ranch near Rose, Nebraska. Buell has been an advocate for agriculture and the cattle industry through his service in trade organization leadership roles. He is a former President of the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association and the Nebraska Hereford Association as well as holding many positions within the National Cattlemen Beef Association in his 14 years of board service. He has been President of the State 4-H Foundation, Campaign for Nebraska, Committee Chair, Sustainable Animal Production Systems, President of Ag Builders of Nebraska, and Chairman of the Rock County Community Fund. A graduate of the University of Nebraska, he is a strong supporter of youth activities and has worked with the University of Nebraska for the benefit of students and research programs, as well as serving on the University of Nebraska President’s Advisory Council. The Buell Family were the recipients of the 2012 Nebraska Leopold Award
Jeff Steffen
- Knox County
Jeff and Jolene Steffen farm around 600 acres in Northeast Nebraska about 10 miles south of the South Dakota border. About 500 of these acres are row crops. They currently grow Corn, Oats, Soybeans, Buckwheat, Cereal Rye and Peas for cash crops. They also graze Cow Calf pairs on full season annual cover crops and winter graze cover crops and crop residue. They have been continuous no-till for 30 plus years but only in the last 10 years have they really concentrated on soil health with cover crops being implemented on the entire farm. Jeff has kept meticulous records to document the profitability of their farming system. Jeff and Jolene also raise non-GMO Soybeans and Oats for certified seed. Jeff is on the Nebraska Natural Resource Commission and serves on the board of his local Natural Resource District. They also love Nature and Wildlife: as West Bow Creek runs through the middle of their farm.
Jordan Uldrich
- Filmore County
Information about the producer will be provided when it’s available.