Sustaining the Family Farm - Scott Wagner

Fifth-generation farmer Scott Wagner of Fremont, Nebraska, farms about three miles from where his great grandfather homesteaded in 1872 after emigrating from Germany. “He actually spent his first winter in a hole he dug in the ground and then built a sod house the following spring,” Wagner said. “So, this farm has been in the family a very long time—this is our 146th year of farming.”

About two years ago, Wagner was planting corn and had an epiphany in the tractor cab. “I realized I couldn’t propel myself forward by just selling grain,” he said. “I realized I had to figure out a way to add value to my crop and create opportunities for future generations to farm here.”

Growing the crop operation through purchasing or renting more land is cost-prohibitive. So now Scott Wagner “corn farmer” is also going to be Scott Wagner “chicken farmer.” He’s building three poultry barns on his land to raise pullets for Costco’s poultry processing facility in Fremont.

Through his contract with Costco, Wagner’s barns will house hens and roosters to maturity, which will be shipped to breeding barns in Nebraska. Those birds will produce fertilized eggs for the Costco hatchery, and the chicks will be raised in broiler barns to eventually be processed into rotisserie chickens and other poultry products sold in the stores.

Read more about Scott's story in our Fall 2018 edition of CornsTalk, which can be found at nebraskacorn.gov.

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