Agricultural prosperity is top local, regional business story of 2011
There was no real competition for the No. 1 business story of 2011 in our region and locale: Agricultural prosperity from Scottsbluff to Falls City, and all points between.
While most of the nation continued to suffer the economic consequences of the real estate bubble and subsequent recession, the parts of rural America that depend on farming, and especially rural Nebraska, were doing well, thank you, as high commodity prices and record land prices pushed the farm economy to a peak.
The rest of the state benefited directly and indirectly from related agricultural finance and supply chain links, transportation, manufacturing of equipment and food production.
In the United States, only North Dakota's continuing oil shale boom created better economic circumstances than Nebraska's agriculture did.
You don't have to take our word for it. Pay attention to Jason Henderson, managing executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Omaha branch.
"Yes, agriculture and booming farmland values are the biggest story for the Nebraska economy," Henderson said in an email.
No substantive program exists to bridge this gap, and this in many ways presents a serious national security dilemma where some people ride SUVs while others have to walk the streets and cannot afford the fare for public transportation.