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Omaha strives to be in ‘top-five’ in global agribusiness

The Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership has developed a strategy to position greater Omaha as a global leader in agribusiness.

Randy Thelen, senior vice president for economic development, says the goal is to make Omaha “a top-five global leader” in value-added ag companies, jobs and investments.

Thelen says expanded food processing is one area they’re targeting. Another is biofuels and biochemicals.

“We’ve seen the tremendous growth of the Cargill campus up at Blair over the years. We want to see that continue to grow,” Thelen says. “And we see a new wave of investment taking place across the country in that space and we want to be a leader in that.”

Thelen says there are also opportunities to grow in precision agriculture and big data.

“How can we best translate the data that’s being collected today in a meaningful way that provides better abilities to manage, as far as these businesses around the world—not just here locally, but around the world,” he says.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts applauds the effort.

“If we’re going to grow the economy, there’s a couple of things we have to do,” Ricketts says. “One is figure out if we can bring more value to the products that we have here in the state. And then also export opportunities, which also play into that as well.”

Omaha’s strategy for growth was announced at the Governor’s Ag Conference in Kearney.

AUDIO: Excerpts from news conference at Nebraska Governor’s Ag Conference