Tell us a little about yourself. Native Nebraskan. Grew up in South Sioux City, Omaha & Lincoln. Worked on a Dakota County farm one summer in high school and briefly in a Clay County hog confinement during college. Graduated Hastings College with English major and from the George Washington University college of law.
What is your position at UNL? Undergraduate teaching, research & extension in agricultural law and natural resources/environmental law. 50 years at UNL as of December 2025.
What drew you to this career path and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln? I went to law school with an interest in environmental & natural resources law. I worked on a USDA water law study my last two years in law school.
What is the most memorable moment in your career? In 2018 high Nebraska property taxes were a hot political issue within the agricultural community. I decided to look at how Nebraska ag property taxes as a percentage of net Nebraska farm income compared to the US as a whole. Somewhat to my surprise I found that Nebraska farmers and ranchers paid about 50% more of their income in property taxes than the US average, to me a significant finding. Ag property taxes are high in Nebraska and my little study demonstrated that pretty clearly.
Is there a personal highlight or achievement you would like to share? In the 1980s Nebraska farmers and ranchers were suffering. As our extension farm management specialists were trying to help producers through this difficult period, I shifted my program away from water law and towards dealing with farm financial distress. I published one of the first law review articles analyzing the new 1986 chapter 12 family farm bankruptcy act and gave extension programs on farm foreclosure and bankruptcy options to producers across Nebraska.
What is your greatest achievement? In 2020 I published an analysis of how climate change would affect rural domestic water users and communities in Nebraska and the Great Plains region. I identified how rainwater capture and sewage reclamation might be required by rural households and communities to deal with increasingly dry summers in the years to come.
What is something that most people don’t know about you? My dad was a large animal veterinarian in northeast Nebraska until he had to leave his practice for health reasons. I would often accompany him on calls which was my first introduction to Nebraska agriculture.
What do you enjoy outside of work? Spending time with wife Kathy (especially doing jigsaw puzzles), daughter Becky & her boyfriend David.
What’s your advice to next generation? If we can’t find ways to slow and ultimately reverse climate change, future prospects are grim for Nebraska, the US, and globally. So get informed & be sure to vote for candidates who share your climate concerns.