field notes NEBRASKA
NEBRASKA NOTES ANNUAL WASHINGTON, D.C. FLY-IN
In early March, several dealers from Nebraska and Iowa traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Annual Legislative Fly- In. Once again, INEDA had one of – if not the largest – group in attendance. In addition to our usual stop at the Nebraska Breakfast and visiting with each of our congressional delegates at their offices, we were able to participate in a mock “lock up” at the U.S. Department of Ag (USDA). The USDA goes through this process every time they prepare to issue a major report (planted acres of corn, soybeans, etc.) since any advance information from these reports would be highly detrimental (and advantageous to someone playing in the futures markets of those products).
The process was very interesting and the anecdotes shared by presenters of past instances where informa- tion was relayed early to outside observers were eye opening. For example, the USDA wires down the window shades throughout the building so they cannot be used as a signaling device. You never really think about this sort of thing when it comes to operating large government agencies and the security measures they must take to keep outside influences from affecting the outcome.
WEATHER ISSUES BECOME A NIGHTMARE
Twice this winter I left town for a week only to come home to a blizzard. While driving through whiteout conditions from the Omaha airport to Lincoln and discovering 6” of snow needing scooped in my driveway wasn’t fun, it was nothing compared to what Nebraskans faced in March.
As you’ve all heard by now, northeast Nebraska experienced severe flooding along the Niobrara and Loup River valleys. The Niobrara River feeds into the Missouri River and the Loup River feeds into the Platte River. Severe flooding also occurred along the Elkhorn River and the Platte River valley, all converging in the towns of Columbus and Fremont before inundating Plattsmouth and the Missouri River valley south to Kansas City and beyond.
There was loss of life, both human and animal. Fortunately the human loss of life was low, but livestock losses are still being counted. In addition to the flooding, western Nebraska experienced a “Bomb Cyclone” that not only contributed to flooding, but also caused a large loss of baby calves, as the ranch community was in full calving mode at the time. It was literally the perfect storm.
When I traveled to the Loup City area, I saw gigantic icebergs that had broken loose when the rains and warmer weather arrived, causing an immediate thaw. Pictures from the Niobrara River valley show much of the same. Mountains of ice have been deposited in pastures and farm ground and will probably take months to thaw. Moving this ice is nearly impossible, since the ground below is extremely wet and muddy. The ripple effect of this catastrophe will continue to be felt for months, if not years.
4 | The Retailer Magazine | May/June
MARK OTHMER, Nebraska Field Director [
marko@ineda.com]
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