LINCOLN — “107 Years of Service” is the theme for the 107th annual Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) state convention. John Hansen, NeFU President said, “For the past 107 years, the focus of our general farm organization has been to serve the needs of family farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. For the first time ever, in order to conduct the necessary elections and business of the organization, and keep our members safe, we will be doing our convention virtually via ZOOM. Instead of holding our convention in Kearney as scheduled, our convention will be held in farm homes across the state.”
NeFU delegates and members will elect Board of Directors from Districts 1 and 5. Incumbents Al Davis is running for re-election for District 1, and Camdyn Kavan is running for District 5 to replace retiring Director Ben Gotschall who announced he is moving to Maine to serve as the Dairy Manager at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment in Freeport. The final district caucuses to field potential additional candidates and all elections will be held Friday morning between 11:00 am and noon.
In addition to electing officers, three delegates and alternates to the National Farmers Union (NFU) Convention will be elected. The 2019-2020 NeFU policy will be extended for one year. Urgent time sensitive policy issues can be sent to the NeFU Board of Directors for consideration.
Hansen said he hopes NeFU members will take advantage of this new virtual opportunity to attend their state convention. “Since it is virtual, there will be no transportation time or costs, lodging, meal, or registration costs.” Registration is at the NeFU website: www.nebraskafarmersunion.org. The latest information will be on the website. “We are still doing the organization business including elections, but we have condensed the usual two full day schedule down to one short day. In addition to hearing from NFU President Rob Larew Friday after lunch, the convention will feature the always popular State Senator panel with Senators Brandt, DeBoer, Quick, and Walz. We start late and end early to allow time to do morning and afternoon chores,” Hansen said.
NeFU Vice President Vern Jantzen of Plymouth noted “The safety of our members was our primary concern which is why we moved to a virtual event. Thanks to the pandemic, people everywhere including rural Nebraska have learned how to use ZOOM or some sort of platform to conduct business. As people get more comfortable with this technology, it makes it easier for rural Nebraskans to participate when long distances are not a factor. This pandemic has shown the light on the need to improve the accessibility and capacity of high speed internet broadband. This could be a positive that comes out of this pandemic.”
NeFU President John Hansen concluded, “The good news is that since our virtual convention will be practicing extreme social distancing, we won’t need to wear our masks to be safe.”
Nebraska Farmers Union 107th Annual State Convention
“107 Years of Service”
December 4, 2020 First Ever Virtual Convention
No transportation, lodging, outside meals, or registration costs
Builders Club & NEBFARMPAC Donations are gratefully accepted
“Registration is still required”
Friday Morning, December 4, 2020
9:30 Call to order: Convention Convenes, Welcome, Pledge, Prayer, Past Convention Minutes (All Members)
9:45 NeFU Foundation Elections– John Hansen, NeFU Foundation Secretary
- Election of At-Large Member to NeFU Foundation, 1 year term
(Ron Meyer is the current director)
10:00 NeFU Foundation & Education Report—John Hansen
10:15 Nebraska Farmers Union PAC report—Vern Jantzen
10:30 Refreshment Break Sponsored by: Nebraska Rural Radio Association (What’s in your refrigerator?)
10:40 Farmers Union Midwest Agency, LLP report—Jeff Downing, General Manager
11:00 NeFU Elections: Report by Elections Chair, Vern Jantzen (Delegates Only)
- Introduction of candidates for NeFU Delegates to NFU Convention (all Delegates vote)
February 28-March 1-2, 2021 Virtual Convention
- Elect Top Six NFU Convention Delegates–Vote for 1, 2, or 3 candidates
(Top 3 vote getters are Delegates—next 3 are Alternates)
- Districts 1 & 5 caucus for additional NeFU District Director Nominations (2021-2022-2023)
- Election of District 1 Director (District 1 Delegates only vote)
- Election of District 5 Director (District 5 Delegates only vote)
12:00 Noon Luncheon: Sponsored by Farmers Union Midwest Agency, LLP
Help yourself, and eat on your own!
Friday Afternoon, December 4, 2020
12:30 NeFU President’s Award presentation to: Ben Gotschall, retiring District 5 Director (All Members)
12:40 NeFU President’s Award presentation to: State Senator Dan Quick, LD35
12:50 NFU President Rob Larew, NFU Government Relations Report
1:30 A Preview of the 2021 Legislative Session
- Senator Tom Brandt, LD32
- Senator Dan Quick, LD35
- Senator Lynne Walz, LD15
- Senator Wendy DeBoer, LD10
2:30 NeFU President John Hansen, NeFU President-Convention Wrap Up
— Nebraska Farmers Union
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