Nebraska Farmers Union

1305 Plum Street • Lincoln, NE 68502 www.nebraskafarmersunion.org Contact John Hansen Office: 402-476-8815, Fax: 402-476-8859, Cell: 402-580-8815 john@nebraskafarmersunion.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2009

Nebraska Farmers Union Spearheads Petition Efforts For

Class IV Combine Manufacturing At Husker Harvest Days

Lincoln, NE. Nebraska Farmers Union announced their plans to bring their successful State Fair petition drive efforts to Husker Harvest Days next week. The petition asks Secretary Vilsack and Congress to consider using stimulus money if necessary to incent the manufacture of discontinued Class IV combines. Class IV combines are below 214 Horsepower, and are no longer manufactured or sold in the U.S. market, although some are sold abroad.

The petition signatures will be presented to Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack September 28^th when he will be in Scottsbluff to hold an open mike meeting on rural infrastructure needs. “We believe there is a strong market for these sized machines. This should be a win, win, win effort for U.S. farm equipment manufacturers, U.S. workers, and U.S. farmers. It seems appropriate to use stimulus money to incent the creation of more U.S. jobs to meet an overlooked agricultural market. Nebraska is home to Case IH in Grand Island and Claas of America in Omaha, both of whom manufacture combines. Nebraska could receive particularly large economic benefits from this overlooked market opportunity,” said Nebraska Farmers Union President, John Hansen.

Hansen said the response at the State Fair was overwhelmingly positive from farmers of all sizes. Farmers compared fixing up their old combines to fixing up clunker cars. “How much money should you put into an old machine before you give up on it?” was the question many famers asked as they signed the petition. Many farmers said they did not need and could not afford combines that were many times larger and over $100,000 more expensive than they needed. Other farmers said they were hesitant to consider buying a larger combine with several of their neighbors because of the financial risk involved, and the possible strain of relationships from owning equipment together with neighbors that have very different approaches to maintaining and operating equipment.

Hansen encouraged farmers to stop by the Nebraska Farmers Union booth at Husker Harvest Days next week to help send Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack a message that there is strong support for the return of Class IV combine manufacturing.

The Farmers Union booth will be in the East Diversified Industries Building, just south of the Producers Hybrids display, on East Avenue at Husker Harvest Days September 15 to 17.

Nebraska Farmers Union is the state’s second largest and oldest general farm organization representing over 5,000 farm and ranch families and the rural communities they live in. The mission of Nebraska Farmers Union is to improve the economic well being and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers, and the rural communities they live in.

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