Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen jokes with members of the Colfax-Dodge County Corn Growers Association last week. About 200 people attended the event south of Scribner.

Governor touts ag sustainability

by Nathan Arneal
Published 6/6/06

Governor Jim Pillen was the featured speaker at the summer meeting of the Colfax-Dodge County Corn Growers Association last Tuesday on the farm of Matt and Megan Giesselmann south of Scribner.

Jordan Emanuel of North Bend emceed the event. Other local farmers on the Association’s board include Brad Ferguson, Jason Feala and Brent Hopkins.

Pillen had just returned from a trip to Texas to inspect the border with 10 or 12 other governors. He said back in May Texas governor Greg Abbott told him things are out of control on the border.

“It’s way more than an illegal immigration issue,” Pillen said. “The drug cartels have taken it over. It’s about weapons. It’s about extraordinary amounts of drugs, extraordinary amounts of methamphetamines synthetically made in China getting to the border to come across. And it’s young kids, if you can imagine the sex trafficking. It’s an extraordinary humanitarian crisis.”

He said with the pictures and data he saw that Nebraskans would want to do like they do at home, help their neighbors.

“I’m a believer that every state is a border state,” he said.

Nebraska sent 10 state patrol troopers to Texas in June primarily tasked with operating drones. Pillen said Nebraska has one of the most sophisticated drone programs of any state patrol.

Pillen said the drone cameras were able to see drug cartel members packing 13 and 14-year-old kids with drugs to take across the border.

“Our belief simply is we can have a greater impact in keeping our kids safe (in Nebraska) by helping at the border,” he said.

He also spoke of Nebraska farmers leading the way in renewable fuels and sustainable farming practices. He pointed out that farmers were early adapters to using electric motors when they replaced many diesel engines powering irrigation pumps.

“We’re the first to go away from fossil fuels,” he said. “Why did we do that? It is good business. That’s a beautiful example of sustainability.”

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