July 8, 2026 · Nebraska Farmers Network
Agriculture Only Survives When People Understand It
Nebraska Farmers Network exists to empower farmers and ranchers to preserve their legacies and build generational wealth through solutions owned by the people who work the land. You cannot do that without education, because a legacy is only as durable as the decisions that protect it, and good decisions require understanding.
If you grew up in Nebraska a hundred years ago, you learned about agriculture the way you learned to walk. School calendars bent around planting and harvest. Nearly everyone had a hand in feeding the country, or knew someone who did.
That world has changed. Today, a single American farmer feeds roughly 166 people a year. In the 1800s, that number was three to five. That statistic shows the industry's productivity growth, but when one farmer can feed 166 people, 165 of them never have to think about how it happens. The distance between the farm and the dinner table has never been wider.
The cost of not knowing.
When the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance surveyed the country, 72% of consumers admitted they knew little or nothing about farming or ranching, even though most said they think about food production often. Farmers and ranchers saw the same gap from the other side: 86% said the average consumer has little to no knowledge of modern agriculture. That was more than a decade ago, and as we have fewer farms and fewer people working in agriculture, this knowledge gap remains very wide.
The people who have never met a farmer still vote on ag policy. They decide what to believe about how land should be used and who should own it. When the public doesn't understand agriculture, the people who practice it lose their voice in decisions that shape their future.
The United Nations projects a global population approaching 10 billion in the decades ahead, and the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates food production will need to grow roughly 70% by 2050. Feeding that world will take more people who understand agriculture, not fewer.
Ag education is important for everyone.
Organizations like FFA and 4-H do essential work building the next generation of producers, and Nebraska should be proud of how strong those programs are here. However, agricultural education doesn't end at graduation, and it isn't only for the people who will farm.
The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture says farmers themselves, whether beginning or experienced, need ongoing education to keep pace with technology, science, and business management. The producer who stops learning falls behind on everything from soil health to succession planning.
There's a third group that gets overlooked entirely: landowners and families standing at a crossroads. The retiring farmer decides what to do with the home place. The heirs in three different states who have just inherited land. The multi-generational family that has never had to think about capital gains or inheritance tax until the day it's the only thing they can think about. These people may not be taught about these issues, as they face some of the most consequential decisions in agriculture with the least preparation.
Why NFN educates.
Nebraska Farmers Network exists to empower farmers and ranchers to preserve their legacies and build generational wealth through solutions owned by the people who work the land. You cannot do that without education, because a legacy is only as durable as the decisions that protect it, and good decisions require understanding.
We write about what heirs should know before they inherit farmland. We publish the questions we encourage landowners to ask before they sell. We talk about what long-term stewardship really means and what happens when it's ignored. These topics are more than just content. An informed landowner makes better decisions for their family, and an informed public stops being a bystander and starts being an advocate for Nebraska agriculture.
Education is how we write a better story for agriculture: higher profits, thriving rural communities, and land that stays connected to the people and purposes that built it.
In Nebraska, understanding the land has always been the first step toward protecting it. Nebraska Farmers Network is dedicated to providing education and solutions to keep Nebraska Land, Nebraska-owned.
Sources:
https://cropcareequipment.com/blog/importance-of-agricultural-education/
https://www.ffa.org/ffa-in-the-usa/the-importance-of-agricultural-education/
https://www.nifa.usda.gov/topics/farmer-education
https://alhambrauschamber.org/blog/the-importance-of-agricultural-education