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Nebraska cattle producer frustrated with government on 2019 flood response

An east central Nebraska cattle producer is still cleaning up from historic flooding in 2019 but says the federal government is dragging its feet.

Drew Wolfe lives along the Platte River near Schuyler. “How can you live in limbo for two years waiting for somebody to give you an answer on a direction to go for what’s available for yourself?”

He tells Brownfield they no longer have a feed source for their herd. “That 400 acres the majority of it is covered in anywhere from inches to seven feet of sand. The river created a secondary channel through there. It’s flooded six times in that channel since the flood in 2019,” Wolfe says. “There’s a lot of scouring and lots of holes.”

He says he’s enrolled in the USDA Emergency Conservation Program but a back log is delaying any benefits.

Bobbie Kriz-Wickham with the Nebraska Farm Service Agency says receiving benefits can take time because many federal agencies are involved. “You’re repairing gullies or terraces were washed out. That’s where you’re moving a lot of soil. Those environmental and cultural consultations maybe more involved and you’ve got to get those parties like the NRCS involved,” she said.

Wolfe says he’s worked with several agencies like the USDA, NRCS, FEMA and the community of Schuyler. He says requests at the local level are approved but communication at the federal level is lacking leaving the project in limbo.

“I think it’s dead in the water. I mean, it’s not going to happen. We’re going to have to deal with it the way it is,” he said.

The most extensive damage to his property was from extreme currents carrying massive ice chucks that destroyed his feed lots and swept away a third of his herd.