Nebraska Farmer Logo

3 reasons to visit Natural Resources Hub

The Natural Resources District offers native seed, free trees and answers to conservation questions.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

August 16, 2021

1 Min Read
The Natural Resources Hub on lot 39E offers free trees to HHD visitors
PLANT ONE: The Natural Resources Hub on Lot 39E offers free trees to Husker Harvest Days visitors. Mindy Ward

The Natural Resources Hub on Lot 39E at Husker Harvest Days Sept. 14-16 in Grand Island, Neb., offers visitors a chance to take home free trees and seeds, and some advice.

Here are three things you won’t want to miss while lingering in the Natural Resources Districts Building:

1. Free trees and seeds. Husker Harvest Days visitors can pick up a free native prairie grass seed packet at the Natural Resources Hub. Prairie seed goes quickly, so make the NRD Hub your first stop.

The NRD Conservation Tree Program helps landowners plant thousands of trees each year to benefit people and animals. Colorado blue spruce tree seedlings are also free to visitors in the Natural Resources Districts’ building.

All 23 Nebraska NRDs administer tree planting programs to provide trees and shrubs for local landowners. Each district varies, but possible services include:

  • planting

  • weed barrier installation or control

  • irrigation

2. Water testing. The Water Well Standards Program with the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy  will also be on-site to provide free water testing, which can screen for nitrates within minutes. Private well owners should bring a cup-sized sample of water in a clean container.

3. Cost-share conversation. Along with the NRDs, agriculture producers can meet with various conservation agencies that offer assistance, cost-share opportunities and agricultural programs all at the Natural Resources Hub.

Some of the organizations include the Nebraska Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Farm Service Agency, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, and Central Platte NRD’s Native Prairie and Pollination Awareness Program.

Add the Natural Resources Hub to your list of exhibitors to visit during the show.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like