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Nebraska Farm Bureau endorses Johanns
Published Thursday, September 04, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Nebraska Farm Bureau announced Thursday (Sept. 4) it is officially endorsing Mike Johanns in the U.S. Senate race.

“Our endorsement today is based on the fact that Mike Johanns clearly understands the needs of agriculture and remains committed to making the future better for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers,” said Steve Nelson of Axtell, chair of Nebraska Farm Bureau’s political action committee. Nelson, also first vice president of Nebraska Farm Bureau, spoke at news conferences in Firth and Hastings.

As USDA secretary, Johanns showed great leadership and communication skills in handling the aftermath of the first BSE-infected cow in the United States, and he fought long and hard to restore U.S. beef export markets, Nelson said. “Nebraska’s beef industry needed a solid leader to manage this crisis and Mike Johanns delivered,” he said.

Ag producers are in a much better position today with better prices than when Johanns became secretary of agriculture, Nelson said: “A certain amount of credit should go to Mike Johanns for his countless efforts to open up new international markets and for his leadership and emphasis on renewable fuels during his three-year tenure as secretary.”

Johanns did a “tremendous job” representing agriculture’s interests when he was governor of Nebraska, Nelson said. Johanns “worked hard to build Nebraska’s ethanol industry and was committed to promoting the state’s agricultural products overseas.” He also was instrumental in initiating a property tax credit to help address the property tax burden faced by farmers and ranchers.

“Mike Johanns also understands Nebraska’s water issues and the importance of irrigation to farmers and to the state,” Nelson said.

Johanns was the first gubernatorial candidate to be endorsed by Nebraska Farm Bureau, in 1998, Nelson said, and is now the first candidate to be endorsed at the federal level.

Nebraska Farm Bureau uses a grassroots process, based on input from the state’s County Farm Bureaus, to determine its endorsements. “In this case, there was a very high degree of consensus among our County Farm Bureaus to support Mike Johanns for election to the U.S. Senate,” Nelson said.

© 2008 The Nebraska Rural Radio Association. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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