The ''Nebraska Farmer'' was the first agricultural publication in the state and is, at present, one of the oldest run journals in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. This publication is still highly influential in the making of agricultural policies and procedures in

and surrounding

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

states. It is owned by media company

Penton Penton was a rebadged American brand of off-road enduro motorcycles designed by John Penton and manufactured by KTM in Austria for distribution in the United States between 1968 and 1978. History Origins John Penton was an accomplished America ...

History

Founded in 1859 by Robert Wilkinson Furnas the journal was published eight years before the territory of Nebraska would become a state and wrote for "the experiences of those who have been cultivating our own soil". Over the years since its publication the ''Nebraska Farmer'' has always been dedicated to serving the diverse

geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

regions of the state. Being an assistance to farmers that plant a wide variety of crops and a leading ranching and cattle region in the county. Robert Furnas worked as the editor for the paper, which was published as monthly, until 1862 when he was called to fight in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. With movement ownership and uncertainty of state affairs ''Nebraska Farmer'' was discontinued on and off and did not regain the stability of its early years for a few decades. The paper was first reissued as a weekly paper with Abraham Deyo as the editor in 1872. The paper stayed afloat for two years, was closed in 1874, and was then reopened once again in January 1877 by J. C. McBride. This iteration of the paper had a lot of difficulties and in 1898 moved to

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

and was consolidated into ''The Cultivator''. A paper under the title of ''Nebraska Farmer'' would not be published again in the state until in 1905

Samuel Roy McKelvie Samuel Roy McKelvie (April 15, 1881 – January 6, 1956) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. McKelvie served as the 19th governor of Nebraska, from 1919 to 1923. He was also the 13th lieutenant governor of Nebraska, from ...

was offered the position to revive the editorship. The publication plant was moved back to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

and McKelvie began a successful expansion of paper. By focusing on issues like irrigation, unburdening taxes on farmers, or crop rotation the Farmer focused on agriculture and the states politics. Other agricultural journals were consolidated into the ''Farmer'', such as the ''Twentieth Century Farmer'' in 1918 and the ''Nebraska Farm Journal'' in 1928. McKelvie remained ''Nebraska Farmer'' publisher until his death in 1956. The company continued to expand, launching ''Colorado Rancher and Farmer'' in 1947 (now part of the ''Western Farmer-Stockman'') and creating the Husker Harvest Days farm show near

Grand Island, Nebraska Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 census. Grand Island is the principal city of the Grand Island metropolitan area, which consists of Hall, Merrick, ...

, in 1978. In the late 1960s, ''Nebraska Farmer'' was purchased by

Harcourt, Brace & World Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...

. In 1991,

Farm Progress Farm Progress is the publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines. The company dates back nearly 200 years. Farm Progress Companies is owned by Informa. Farm Progress has the oldest known continuously published magazine, ''Prairie Farmer'', whi ...

Companies purchased it and other Harcourt Brace farm publications. Farm Progress was purchased by Penton in 2012.Bill Mickey, "Penton Acquires Farm Progress Companies for $79.9 Million
Folio
13 November 2012.

References

External links

''Nebraska Farmer'' online
{{Informa Newspapers published in Nebraska