Experiences provide insight into policy issues
Experience with “boots on the ground” gives the top officials in Nebraska’s Department of Agriculture unique insight into the policies developed and enforced.
Sherry Vinton, a lifelong Nebraskan and livestock producer, lives in Lincoln as she serves as Director of Agriculture, but her heart remains back on the ranch south of Whitman in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Updates from her husband keep her in touch with their Angus cow-calf operation where calving is underway. She knows what it’s like to move those animals across the native pastures with feedstocks supplemented with irrigated alfalfa. She and her husband, Chris, have three married children (two who work on the ranch, and one who farms in northeast Nebraska) and 10 grandchildren.
Her experiences shape how she looks at her job. “We are at a critical juncture in agriculture,” Sherry said. “There are so many things that are changing. This role provides me with an opportunity to stand strong with our new governor, aiding in his mission to defend, promote and grow all of agriculture in Nebraska. He is the first agriculture governor in this state in 100 years.”
In her position, her department oversees animal disease traceability programs, regulatory programs for plants and animals, food safety and consumer protection programs, and the promotion of Nebraska agriculture and ag products.
Each of those areas is important, but Sherry emphasized the most difficult problem that agriculture in Nebraska faces in 2023 “is drought, plain and simple.” There really isn’t a way for humans to fix that. But “We have the most irrigated acres in the nation so we are fortunate that we can mitigate drought. For the other half of the state with rangeland acres, it is a big problem. We have a hay hotline set up as our hay and forage stocks are at the lowest level since the 1950s. These resources are quickly running out and we watch the drought monitor closely. Many people developed drought plans they implement for alternative grazing.”
In her role, Sherry said, “One of the main things I plan on doing to promote ag is to develop specific talking points about the importance of food and energy security as national security. It’s very easy for us to forget the efficiency of modern agriculture production. We saw how things broke in so many areas during the pandemic, yet our farmers and ranchers didn’t blink an eye; they kept producing in abundance.”
Another area is promotion of the renewable fuels industry and the circular economy in Nebraska of grain, livestock and renewable fuels which truly feed the world and save the planet.
“We have to continue to be viable businesses and know what makes us important, besides providing food. Agriculture provides food security and energy security. We need to have our consumers, customers and citizens understand that.”
Developing ways to do that is imperative. “We are fortunate to have a great NDA promotional team,” Sherry said. “Of course, we will not change everyone’s mind about the things they hear. But there is a movable middle. We provide true data and facts to get the message out there, and sometimes that’s the best we can do. Working with the public, being the face of ag means working at the local and state level, plus the national and international level, to target our message to those who need to see it. We focus our message on our high-quality products and the sustainable methods used in the production of our grains and livestock.”
Source: tsln.com
Photo Credit: Nebraska DOA
Categories: Nebraska, Government & Policy