LINCOLN, Neb. – In a state known for agriculture, the fruits and vegetables that go into the mouths of Nebraska residents are often, surprisingly, not Nebraskan.

“It goes mainly one way, and that’s importing,” said Katie King from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Food Systems Initiative. “For being an agriculture state and importing 90% of the vegetables we consume is pretty incredible.”

That number lies in contrast to the state’s heavy exports of corn, soybeans and beef, among other products.

“Seventy-five of the 90 (percent) comes in from California,” said Wally Graeber, a farm apprentice at Shadow Brook Farm outside of Lincoln. Graeber also serves on the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society.

“They have an ag policy in that state that has promoted and supported the growth of fruit and vegetable production," Graeber said. "We don’t have that here.”

Both King and Graeber believe those statistics could change, but it won’t be easy.

“There’s been some research to show that Nebraska could grow about 60 to 65% of the vegetables we consume,” King said. “We have a long way to go in order to do that. I think there’s potential that we could do that. Whether that takes each farmer growing commodities to convert one acre over to some kind of vegetable, it would take a lot, but it’s also doable.”

Graeber says bills in the Nebraska legislature, one of which would make it easier for consumers to purchase directly from local meat producers and another which would prioritize locally grown food in school cafeterias, could help.

Shadow Brook Farm operator Ian Richmond says there is another important task that will be key to growing the industry in the state.

“Finding ways to connect young people that do have the enthusiasm or the drive or even the idealism to believe that food can be produced here and finding a way to give people the chance,” Richmond said.

“I do feel that there’s quite a barrier for people that would be interested in vegetable or fruit production, both on a land access level and a monetary level.”

As for bigger changes that could lead to more prioritized local production of Nebraskans’ food, Richmond was less certain.

“It’s going to take fundamental shifts on like a federal level,” Richmond said. “I can’t even really begin to understand or speak towards how that would ever happen…I don’t want to dumb myself down, but at the end of the day, I grow food. I don’t necessarily pay that much attention to policy or like where and how much money is going to corn and soy.”

Graeber says the passion for growing the fruit and vegetable market in the state goes far beyond economics.

“I think that concept, or the opportunity, to feed one another out of the soil that we all kind of have a responsibility to take care of is a really important piece of building community,” Graeber said. “To be a good neighbor, I think, is to help uplift one another, and growing food for your neighbor is one chance of doing that.”

King notes that while some challenges are similar for all farmers, there are some additional obstacles for fruit and vegetable farmers in the state.

“All farmers in Nebraska deal with things like tough weather at times and tough markets,” King said. “And sometimes vegetables are not the attractive thing to eat either. Nebraskans are pretty terrible at eating their vegetables, so a lot of these producers are out there trying to change that.”

But despite those challenges, Richmond and Graeber say the state’s fruit and vegetable producers are up to the task.

“There are people here in the state of Nebraska, against the odds of 9 to 1, doing their best to etch out a living growing food and doing their best to do it on a small scale and sustainable platform,” Richmond said. “It’s a really important thing to me. There are people out here doing what they can to grow food for their state, their community.”

“The connection to the health of the community, I think, starts in the soil,” Graeber said. “We’re very fortunate to have a wealth of a resource in the soil that is here in Nebraska, in the breadbasket, in the heartland of the United States. If we’re treating it with respect and care, I think we can continue to cultivate healthy communities.”