Nancy Peterson - Defending Against Drought in the Nebraska Sandhills

Nancy Peterson and her husband, Rex, bought Plum Thicket Farms in the Nebraska Sandhills in 1998 after moving from the Colorado Mountains where Nancy had a cow/calf veterinary practice. Over the years they have built the herd to 300 cows, and have taken many steps to develop water efficiencies and make its pastures drought-resilient. Their son, Patrick, heads the farming operation and is passionate about improving soil health and conserving resources using cover crops and no-till farming practices.

During our conversation, Nancy and I talk about drought planning, minimizing erosion and increasing water retention through cover crops and no-till farming, and the challenges switching from a wheat-fallow system to a no-till system. We talk about the cheap cost of food in the US vs Europe, cattle prices not rising with inputs, and how that’s impacting our rural communities financially, socially and ecologically.

I hope you enjoy this episode about Nancy Peterson and her family’s passion for raising excellent beef cattle while improving soil health and increasing biodiversity.

--- FULL EPISODE NOTES WITH LINKS @ https://truestewards.com/nancy-peterson ---

--- TOPICS DISCUSSED ---

1:36 – An introduction to Plum Thicket Farms in Nebraska’s Sandhills

7:58 – Some of the conservation projects at Plum Thickets including increasing pollinator habitat

9:51 – Side Roll vs Center Pivot Irrigation – names and features of the systems you’ve driven by over the years

11:50 – Increasing efficiency of water use with soil moisture sensors

13:26 – One of the ways the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages best conservation practices

16:26 – Considerations when transitioning to no-till

18:08 – Biggest challenge in agriculture – Narrow profit margins in this business

20:21 – Nancy advises her younger self to build her business acumen

22:03 – Drought resiliency planning

26:12 – Recovering from drought, COVID Response, and narrow margins

29:19 – Educational resources Nancy relies

30:33 – Accepting and learning from failure

31:29 – Talking about the mental health of farmers

32:28 – Problems facing Rural America

35:04 – Beef as a valuable part of a balanced diet and the role livestock plays

36:40 – Profit in the food chain but not with the producers