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What were the best Nebraska Farmer stories from 2024?What were the best Nebraska Farmer stories from 2024?

We gleaned our top six stories from the pages of Nebraska Farmer over the past year. What stories were your favorites? Let us know.

Curt Arens, Senior Editor

December 30, 2024

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American flag and grain silos

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WHO OWNS NEBRASKA LAND? About 800,000 acres — or about 1.6% — of Nebraska land is owned or controlled through leases by foreign entities. With intense interest across the nation about foreign control of agricultural land, two University of Nebraska experts look at the risks and benefits of foreign ownership and legislative work being done to improve laws governing ownership of ag land. Learn more by reading this January 2024 Nebraska Farmer cover story, farmprogress.com/farm-business/what-foreign-interests-control-nebraska-farmland-. You also can read a Letter to the Editor about this article from former Nebraska Energy Office Director David Bracht for added information: farmprogress.com/commentary/wind-leases-and-foreign-control-of-farmland. This story ran as a sidebar to our wind energy cover article in the March issue of Nebraska Farmer.Curt Arens

The year 2024 is almost in the books, so it is right that we look back and reflect on the past as we look forward to the new year.

That’s why we’ve created a gallery for our readers to look back at some of our favorite stories from 2024. Of course, this is not a comprehensive list — it’s just a few of the cover stories we’ve run in print over the past 12 months. Many of these also are on our list because they were among the most read articles online by our readers.

While you click through the gallery, we want to remind readers that there are other stories that made our radar, including “Behind the scenes at Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory” by frequent freelance writer Holly Wortmann of Crofton.

Former and now retired editor Don McCabe still writes for Nebraska Farmer from Lincoln and brought his expertise to a number of articles on the 2024 legislative session at the Unicameral, including his article covering the special session, “Nebraska’s special session ends without major property tax relief.”

Our freelance writer and Husker Harvest Days intern Charlotte Brockman wrote about a young hay producer, Carter Rohrer, who learned about new hay tech at HHD in her article “Young farmer finds new hay tech at HHD.”

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This also is a good time to check on your print subscription and e-newsletter sign-up for Nebraska Farmer and Farm Progress. Here are some ways you can connect with our stories all year long:

Related:What’s in the wind for farmers?

Print subscription. We hear from many of our readers each year that their grandparents or parents received the magazine, and we know that our magazines are passed around families. But if you want a subscription of your own, check out these options:

If you are a renewing subscriber, visit this link: circulation.farmprogress.com/ExistingCustomer.aspx?PubCode=NEF&PK=NEFNLSUB.

New print subscribers should click here: circulation.farmprogress.com/NewSubscriptions.aspx?PubCode=NEF&PK=NEFNLSUB.

Daily e-newsletters. All of our state and regional publications, along with national publications, offer daily e-newsletters that can be sent to your inbox. Go to this link to sign up for Nebraska Farmer or any of our other e-newsletter offerings: pgs.farmprogress.com/newsletter-signup.

Text alerts. You can sign up for our regular text alerts for breaking ag news by texting FARM to 20505.

Social media. Check out Nebraska Farmer, Husker Harvest Days or Farm Progress Show on Facebook and X, and learn a few more details about our top stories each day.

Want to advertise? If you’d like to advertise in Nebraska Farmer in 2025, call Wade Critser at 402-980-3417.

Related:Behind the scenes at Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory

Let us know. Please let us know which stories from 2024 that you loved, learned from or enjoyed the most by emailing [email protected].

About the Author

Curt Arens

Curt Arens

Senior Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress first as a field editor in 2010, and then as editor of Nebraska Farmer in 2021, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years for newspapers and farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer. His real full-time career during this period was farming his family’s fourth-generation land near Crofton, Neb. where his family raised corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, alfalfa, cattle, hogs and Christmas trees.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches. The family now rents out their crop ground to a neighbor, but still lives on the same farm first operated by Curt's great-grandparents, and they still run a few cows and other assorted 4-H and FFA critters.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm life. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs, Nebraska Association of County Extension Boards and Nebraska Association of Natural Resources Districts.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

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