Nebraska Agriculture: Beef, Corn, Ethanol & Popcorn

4 min read

Published on

February 13, 2026

Nebraska Agriculture: Beef, Corn, Ethanol & Popcorn

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Why Nebraska agriculture matters

Nebraska is built for beef and grains—from cow/calf country to world-class cattle feeding and corn that becomes feed, fuel, distillers grains, and bioplastics. Add in dry edible beans, sugar beets, soybeans, and the nation’s favorite snack—popcorn—and you have an ag economy that reaches every aisle and fuel pump.

Snapshot: the essential facts

Corn cornerstone: Corn is the most widely grown crop in Nebraska, serving feed, ethanol, distillers grains, and bioplastics.

Popcorn: Americans consume ~17B quarts of popcorn annually; Nebraska is the #2 producer.

Cattle: Over 6 million head—outnumbering Nebraskans by more than 3 to 1.

Ethanol: #2 ethanol-producing state with 2B+ gallons of renewable fuel annually.

Beef from A–Z: The only state that’s a national leader at every stage—cow/calf, backgrounding, corn growing, cattle feeding, and processing.

Dry beans: #1 in Great Northern beans; 11% of U.S. dry edible beans.

Sugar beets: 100+ years of production; 5th in U.S. sugar beet output.

Land & water: About 89% of Nebraska land is used for agriculture; center-pivot irrigation is the most common water method.

Jobs: 1 in 4 Nebraska jobs are related to agriculture.

Soybeans: 5th in U.S. production; a 60-lb bushel yields ~48 lbs meal and 11 lbs oil.

From numbers to impact: how Nebraska’s farm economy shows up

Food

Beef, beans, and popcorn headline grocery aisles; sugar from beets sweetens everything from cereals to beverages. Soy oil and meal flow into food, feed, and industrial channels.

Feed

Corn, silage, and distillers grains power high-efficiency cattle feeding. That demand supports elevators, rail, feedyards, veterinarians, nutritionists, and equipment dealers statewide.

Fuel

Ethanol plants turn corn into 2B+ gallons of renewable fuel, plus CO₂ for industry and distillers grains for feed—linking rural production with clean-air goals and energy security.

Irrigation & stewardship

Center-pivot systems paired with agronomy and soil health practices help growers optimize water, protect aquifers, and maintain yields under variable weather.

Workforce & community

With 1 in 4 jobs tied to ag, Nebraska’s farm economy supports main-street businesses, logistics, and manufacturing—from seed and equipment to trucking and processing.

Support the producers behind these numbers

Farm Bureau membership is a simple way to back Nebraska’s farm and ranch families. Members help advance commonsense ag policy, strengthen rural communities, and expand classroom resources. Benefits may vary by state program.

What membership supports:

Advocacy — a grassroots voice on water, land, markets, and transportation.

Education — ag-in-the-classroom, scholarships, and leadership programs.

Community — county Farm Bureaus, service projects, and local events.

Join Nebraska Farm Bureau: https://www.nefb.org
Not in Nebraska? Find your state Farm Bureau: https://www.fb.org/about/get-involved

Supporting Nebraska Producers With Exclusive Member Benefits

Through our partnership with the Nebraska Farm Bureau, we’re proud to support Nebraska farmers with tools designed for real-world operations. As part of this partnership, Nebraska Farm Bureau members receive exclusive Gripp pricing, helping operations digitize records, streamline daily work, and stay audit-ready—without adding complexity.