Building Resilience in Post-Pandemic
Rural Nebraska
The Trumpist right frequently references “The Forgotten Man”—often pictured as a White farmer. Nationally, the meme is not without truth: while the rest of the country has rebounded from the Great Recession, rural U.S. counties generally have not. A recent uptick in the price of corn and soybeans may seem an encouraging sign, but ‘futures’ are educated guesses at best. Corporate agriculture extracts by far the greater part of value from Nebraska’s ag product, for the benefit of out-of-state shareholders, and is to farmers and ranchers what the casino is to gamblers. In the long run, the house always wins.
The rural economy is not just about agriculture, and climate change with rising temperatures and water shortages will compel changes in how we farm and ranch. Still, agriculture remains the #1 industry in our state.
Carbon Sequestration
Final regulations for the Carbon Credit U.S. Tax Credit Amendments Act were set in January 2021. Now those involved with a broad range of carbon capture projects and technology can claim tax credits under Section 45Q.
This bi-partisan bill was endorsed by dozens of labor unions, farming and clean energy organizations. Supporters wrote, “The science is clear… greenhouse gas reductions necessary to address the climate crisis will require widespread and rapid deployment of all available technologies, including carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS)...” Specific applications for carbon capture include cover crops and regenerative agriculture (see below) that will shape regional infrastructure planning initiatives—policy drivers for carbon capture and broad economic opportunities and environmental benefits of offering value for waste products—all of which will spur the development of new industries such as direct air capture.
Renewable Energy Production
Nebraska’s renewable energy generation facilities are a considerable source of revenue to schools and other taxing entities. In 2019, renewable energy generated approximately $6,928,800 in nameplate capacity taxes, a substitute for tax on personal property. The nameplate tax is a flat rate of $3,518 per megawatt of a project’s generating capacity for each year of the project’s lifetime. The value of personal property, and thus the tax, typically depreciates. However, the nameplate capacity tax remains flat, providing more money and greater stability to Nebraska’s taxing jurisdictions, including schools. Economic development impacts from the construction of 1,000 MW of wind power in Nebraska are estimated to include 2,300 to 4,200 construction-period jobs, bringing total estimated lifetime economic output to Nebraska to between $7.8 and $14.1 billion, assuming a 20-year operations life for all wind facilities. Nebraska is among the top five states in the country for wind energy investment according to a 2020 report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Solar power provides a small percentage of the state’s electricity, although it is rapidly becoming competitive with grid electricity, as storage capacity has increased. Solar and wind power together could provide all of the state’s power—3,832,600 GWh/year from wind, and 34.1 percent of demand from rooftop solar panels, using 8,200 MW of solar panels. Where new investment in transmission capacity is required, such construction would create thousands of in-state jobs, an economic boost to non-metro counties.
Baird Holm LLP reports that Nebraska’s wind and solar resources continue to attract new investment (Facebook, Adobe, Hormel and Smuckers). Other economic giants are rumored to be looking at Nebraska as well.
Nebraska is the number two ethanol producing state in the nation, at 2.5 billion gallons per year, according to Renewable Fuels Nebraska, with a $5 billion impact on the state’s economy. Ethanol utilizes 40 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop and is largely responsible for higher prices to corn farmers for much of the past decade—sales which have bolstered main street prosperity across non-metro counties. Nebraska’s 25 ethanol plants employ over 1300 workers.
Ethanol and other biofuels, including soy diesel, offer potential environmental benefits, replacing fossil fuel and improving air quality, according to the “Princeton [University] Carbon Mitigation Initiative”, with the priceless advantage of technology and infrastructure already in place. That is, the wheel need not be reinvented. PCMI recommends that ethanol production be doubled, at a minimum. If you’re not driving an all-electric vehicle yet, buy E30. Push state and local officials to use E85.
Regenerative Agriculture
Green America, which addresses food and climate issues, says, “With the adoption of organic and regenerative agricultural practices, food and farming systems can transition from being pollution emitters to important stakeholders in carbon sequestration and part of the solution towards reversing climate change.”
The global system of agriculture is dominated today by a handful of corporations which answer to shareholders, exist to maximize profit, leverage governments and officials to keep these giants large and in charge. Such monopolies mean the folks who sell inputs use economy of scale to capture supply, create monopolies, absorb small competitors and make sure ag producers often have just one market into which to sell... the same folks who process ag product... the same folks who retail that ag product… the same folks who make as much as 25 percent a year in return to equity, while farm and ranch families in the U.S. have made just +/- 2% return to equity for the past 50 years.
We can do better. Buy green. Source locally. The realities of the pandemic, including increased hunger among the poor and disrupted supply chains for the rest of us, have exposed the dysfunctions of modern industrial food systems. We must do better. We wouldn’t be the first empire in human history to crash and burn over bad ag policy. Ask any archaeologist.
Investment in Education
Nebraska must increase funding for education—for preschools, K-12, community colleges, and state colleges and universities, for job training and retraining—to make this greatest of public goods affordable to everyone. We must think like citizens, like people who invest in lasting legacies for the greater good, not like budget shoppers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. STEAM—science, technology, English, arts and mathematics—classes are fundamental to educating Nebraskans for labor markets accessible through broadband and satellite to folks living at the far end of any road.
The Good Life
Protect, preserve and celebrate Nebraska’s Good Life. “Natural resources do not have to be converted into crops, electricity or other commodities to support economic growth. Instead, growth can occur when natural resources provide recreational opportunities (birdwatching, fishing, boating, etc.) and other amenities consumers find desirable. This process is called “amenity-driven growth” according to a report by economist Ernie Nieme (2006), which predicted that the future economy of Nebraska would be served by attracting highly productive individuals who can work remotely and live anywhere they like. “Areas with abundant amenities tend to attract people—especially entrepreneurs and those with higher levels of education—and to experience faster growth in jobs and income.” A new work/life model has swiftly evolved during the pandemic; many people work from home, opening the way for Nieme’s recommendations to take root. Nebraska has much to offer: great schools, clean air, open spaces, housing prices that sound like a joke to folks from coastal cities where a million USD buys what we consider a modest home in most non-metro counties, low-cost public power, abundant groundwater and miles of surface water, fine communities in which to raise families, a dominant culture of general civility, amid a landscape, diverse, much of it unspoiled and of heart-breaking beauty.
Vaccination
There is a cautionary tale told in flood country. Miss Lucy stands on her porch as the water rises round. A neighbor in a pickup comes by. “Climb in, Miss Lucy,” he shouts. “No thank you,” she says. “The Lord will save me.” When the water comes in the house, Miss Lucy climbs the stairs and watches out her bedroom window. A man comes by, poling his bateau. “Let me help you down into my bateau,” he says. “No thank you,” Miss Lucy says. “God will save me.” In the night, the water still rising, Miss Lucy climbs onto her roof. A spotlight appears in the windy black sky and a helicopter descends. The pilot leans out and yells, “I’m going to lower a swing. Buckle yourself in and we will pull you up and take you to higher ground.” Again she refuses. “Jesus will save me.” She drowns and goes to Heaven, where she gives the Lord a piece of her mind. “Where were You? I can’t believe You let me drown,” she scolds. Jesus says, “All due respect, I sent you a truck, a boat and a chopper. Just what exactly were you waiting for?”
A May 3, 2021, New York Times article reports “more than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable... in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever... the virus is changing too quickly, new variants are spreading too easily and vaccination is proceeding too slowly…”
Herd immunity, once the centerpiece of the Trump Administration’s pandemic strategy, is rendered less and less possible due to the vaccine resistance now a mark of the far right brand. Taking just one dose of two increases the likelihood that ever more virulent Covid-19 variants will emerge. “Vaccinations,” conclude the experts cited in the Times, “remain the key to transforming the virus into a controllable threat” like a seasonal flu.
The most important path for Nebraskans today, to serve the economics of a faster state recovery, is becoming fully vaccinated and practicing health and safety protocols in all 93 counties. Post pandemic, forward-thinking communities will thrive and grow.
The rural economy is not just about agriculture, and climate change with rising temperatures and water shortages will compel changes in how we farm and ranch. Still, agriculture remains the #1 industry in our state.
Carbon Sequestration
Final regulations for the Carbon Credit U.S. Tax Credit Amendments Act were set in January 2021. Now those involved with a broad range of carbon capture projects and technology can claim tax credits under Section 45Q.
This bi-partisan bill was endorsed by dozens of labor unions, farming and clean energy organizations. Supporters wrote, “The science is clear… greenhouse gas reductions necessary to address the climate crisis will require widespread and rapid deployment of all available technologies, including carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS)...” Specific applications for carbon capture include cover crops and regenerative agriculture (see below) that will shape regional infrastructure planning initiatives—policy drivers for carbon capture and broad economic opportunities and environmental benefits of offering value for waste products—all of which will spur the development of new industries such as direct air capture.
Renewable Energy Production
Nebraska’s renewable energy generation facilities are a considerable source of revenue to schools and other taxing entities. In 2019, renewable energy generated approximately $6,928,800 in nameplate capacity taxes, a substitute for tax on personal property. The nameplate tax is a flat rate of $3,518 per megawatt of a project’s generating capacity for each year of the project’s lifetime. The value of personal property, and thus the tax, typically depreciates. However, the nameplate capacity tax remains flat, providing more money and greater stability to Nebraska’s taxing jurisdictions, including schools. Economic development impacts from the construction of 1,000 MW of wind power in Nebraska are estimated to include 2,300 to 4,200 construction-period jobs, bringing total estimated lifetime economic output to Nebraska to between $7.8 and $14.1 billion, assuming a 20-year operations life for all wind facilities. Nebraska is among the top five states in the country for wind energy investment according to a 2020 report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Solar power provides a small percentage of the state’s electricity, although it is rapidly becoming competitive with grid electricity, as storage capacity has increased. Solar and wind power together could provide all of the state’s power—3,832,600 GWh/year from wind, and 34.1 percent of demand from rooftop solar panels, using 8,200 MW of solar panels. Where new investment in transmission capacity is required, such construction would create thousands of in-state jobs, an economic boost to non-metro counties.
Baird Holm LLP reports that Nebraska’s wind and solar resources continue to attract new investment (Facebook, Adobe, Hormel and Smuckers). Other economic giants are rumored to be looking at Nebraska as well.
Nebraska is the number two ethanol producing state in the nation, at 2.5 billion gallons per year, according to Renewable Fuels Nebraska, with a $5 billion impact on the state’s economy. Ethanol utilizes 40 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop and is largely responsible for higher prices to corn farmers for much of the past decade—sales which have bolstered main street prosperity across non-metro counties. Nebraska’s 25 ethanol plants employ over 1300 workers.
Ethanol and other biofuels, including soy diesel, offer potential environmental benefits, replacing fossil fuel and improving air quality, according to the “Princeton [University] Carbon Mitigation Initiative”, with the priceless advantage of technology and infrastructure already in place. That is, the wheel need not be reinvented. PCMI recommends that ethanol production be doubled, at a minimum. If you’re not driving an all-electric vehicle yet, buy E30. Push state and local officials to use E85.
Regenerative Agriculture
Green America, which addresses food and climate issues, says, “With the adoption of organic and regenerative agricultural practices, food and farming systems can transition from being pollution emitters to important stakeholders in carbon sequestration and part of the solution towards reversing climate change.”
The global system of agriculture is dominated today by a handful of corporations which answer to shareholders, exist to maximize profit, leverage governments and officials to keep these giants large and in charge. Such monopolies mean the folks who sell inputs use economy of scale to capture supply, create monopolies, absorb small competitors and make sure ag producers often have just one market into which to sell... the same folks who process ag product... the same folks who retail that ag product… the same folks who make as much as 25 percent a year in return to equity, while farm and ranch families in the U.S. have made just +/- 2% return to equity for the past 50 years.
We can do better. Buy green. Source locally. The realities of the pandemic, including increased hunger among the poor and disrupted supply chains for the rest of us, have exposed the dysfunctions of modern industrial food systems. We must do better. We wouldn’t be the first empire in human history to crash and burn over bad ag policy. Ask any archaeologist.
Investment in Education
Nebraska must increase funding for education—for preschools, K-12, community colleges, and state colleges and universities, for job training and retraining—to make this greatest of public goods affordable to everyone. We must think like citizens, like people who invest in lasting legacies for the greater good, not like budget shoppers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. STEAM—science, technology, English, arts and mathematics—classes are fundamental to educating Nebraskans for labor markets accessible through broadband and satellite to folks living at the far end of any road.
The Good Life
Protect, preserve and celebrate Nebraska’s Good Life. “Natural resources do not have to be converted into crops, electricity or other commodities to support economic growth. Instead, growth can occur when natural resources provide recreational opportunities (birdwatching, fishing, boating, etc.) and other amenities consumers find desirable. This process is called “amenity-driven growth” according to a report by economist Ernie Nieme (2006), which predicted that the future economy of Nebraska would be served by attracting highly productive individuals who can work remotely and live anywhere they like. “Areas with abundant amenities tend to attract people—especially entrepreneurs and those with higher levels of education—and to experience faster growth in jobs and income.” A new work/life model has swiftly evolved during the pandemic; many people work from home, opening the way for Nieme’s recommendations to take root. Nebraska has much to offer: great schools, clean air, open spaces, housing prices that sound like a joke to folks from coastal cities where a million USD buys what we consider a modest home in most non-metro counties, low-cost public power, abundant groundwater and miles of surface water, fine communities in which to raise families, a dominant culture of general civility, amid a landscape, diverse, much of it unspoiled and of heart-breaking beauty.
Vaccination
There is a cautionary tale told in flood country. Miss Lucy stands on her porch as the water rises round. A neighbor in a pickup comes by. “Climb in, Miss Lucy,” he shouts. “No thank you,” she says. “The Lord will save me.” When the water comes in the house, Miss Lucy climbs the stairs and watches out her bedroom window. A man comes by, poling his bateau. “Let me help you down into my bateau,” he says. “No thank you,” Miss Lucy says. “God will save me.” In the night, the water still rising, Miss Lucy climbs onto her roof. A spotlight appears in the windy black sky and a helicopter descends. The pilot leans out and yells, “I’m going to lower a swing. Buckle yourself in and we will pull you up and take you to higher ground.” Again she refuses. “Jesus will save me.” She drowns and goes to Heaven, where she gives the Lord a piece of her mind. “Where were You? I can’t believe You let me drown,” she scolds. Jesus says, “All due respect, I sent you a truck, a boat and a chopper. Just what exactly were you waiting for?”
A May 3, 2021, New York Times article reports “more than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable... in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever... the virus is changing too quickly, new variants are spreading too easily and vaccination is proceeding too slowly…”
Herd immunity, once the centerpiece of the Trump Administration’s pandemic strategy, is rendered less and less possible due to the vaccine resistance now a mark of the far right brand. Taking just one dose of two increases the likelihood that ever more virulent Covid-19 variants will emerge. “Vaccinations,” conclude the experts cited in the Times, “remain the key to transforming the virus into a controllable threat” like a seasonal flu.
The most important path for Nebraskans today, to serve the economics of a faster state recovery, is becoming fully vaccinated and practicing health and safety protocols in all 93 counties. Post pandemic, forward-thinking communities will thrive and grow.
