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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

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

and surrounding

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

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 Robert Wilkinson Furnas (May 5, 1824June 1, 1905) was the second governor of Nebraska, United States. Born near Troy, Ohio, and orphaned at the age of eight Furnas was a self-made man. He worked as a farmer, printer, tinsmith, insurance salesman ...

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 Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

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, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. 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 List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

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

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

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, Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Nebraska, 4th most populous ...

, in 1978. In the late 1960s, ''Nebraska Farmer'' was purchased by Harcourt, Brace & World. In 1991,

Farm Progress Farm Progress is the publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines. The company's oldest publication began in 1819. Farm Progress Companies is owned by Informa. Farm Progress has the oldest known continuously published magazine, ''Prairie Farmer ...

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