When the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN) was created in 2006, there was a limited amount of poultry production in the state.
But since that time, the industry has significantly grown in Nebraska, and AFAN Executive Director Steve Martin said the state has plenty to offer that would facilitate further growth of the sector.
What is AFAN?
According to Martin, AFAN was created by several of the leading commodity groups in Nebraska and the Nebraska Farm Bureau, with a key focus on growing the livestock industry in the state.
“The idea was that if we are going to grow the rural economy in Nebraska, the best way to do that is to utilize the resources we have in place. We’re really good at raising corn, soybeans, alfalfa and feedstuffs,” said Martin, a former Nebraska Department of Agriculture employee who joined AFAN about six years ago.
“So rather than shipping that out of the state, if it goes to animals that are raised here, you just keep adding value at each level. So that was really part of the drive,” he said.
A non-profit organization, AFAN does not sell any products, nor does it lobby. But it does work with those who do. It is funded through memberships and is governed by a 10-member board, although two of the board positions are ex-officio.
AFAN also has four full-time employees, including Martin, and one part-time employee.
Cooperation with the poultry industry
In the early days of AFAN, the poultry industry’s primary presence in Nebraska was the Michael Foods complex in Wakefield and the Smart Chicken complex in Tecumseh.
But things really started to pick up in 2017, when Hendrix Genetics opened a layer hatchery in Grand Island and a turkey hatchery in Beatrice.
Roughly two years after that, Lincoln Premium Poultry (LPP), now the country’s 17th largest broiler producer, opened a complex in Fremont.
AFAN had a hand in helping bring those facilities to Nebraska, Martin said, and those associations have been equally beneficial.
“We helped recruit (Hendrix Genetics) to Nebraska, so we’ve had that connection for almost 10 years now. Anytime I need to know something about different things in the poultry world, I can contact them,” said Martin.
Drawing the Costco-affiliated LPP to Nebraska was an intensive process for AFAN.
LPP had to be convinced that Nebraska had enough farmers who could and would raise chickens, so numerous meetings were held. When enough farmers showed they were excited to raise chickens, LPP became excited to locate in Nebraska.
However, once LPP committed to locate there, AFAN’s work wasn’t finished. The AFAN staff attended numerous zoning hearings, so landowners could get the necessary approvals to build poultry houses to support the LPP plant.
“We worked through that process with about 100 different families all over that northeast part of Nebraska,” Martin said.
Martin referenced a University of Nebraska economic impact study, which revealed that LPP generates more than $1 billion annually for the state’s economy.
Further outreach
AFAN is pleased with the economic impact the poultry industry has had so far in Nebraska, and its staff believes that success validates the idea that there could be mutual benefits for more poultry production in Nebraska.
“Lincoln Premium Poultry really got us thinking we could grow the poultry industry in the state, and if you look at where everybody is in the state today, they’re basically in Grand Island and east, which is barely a third of the state.” Martin said. “There’s about two-thirds of the state that is wide open, but there’s still a lot of good feedstocks, good water, a good workforce, but no other poultry really, so there’s some opportunity there.”
One way that AFAN attempts to reach people interested in poultry or other agrifood ventures in Nebraska is through trade shows. Martin, along with representatives from the AFAN cooperating entities, were present at PEAK in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in April. PEAK is formerly known as the Midwest Poultry Federation Convention.
Martin described that trip as productive, with key industry people in attendance. “We’ll definitely be back next year,” he said.
