Nebraska in the national news: November 2025

University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty members were interviewed about the impacts of tariffs and “forever chemicals” for national and international news stories in November. The articles were among 30-plus such stories featuring Husker faculty, staff, students, centers and programs during the month.

• Lia Nogueira, associate professor of agricultural economics, was interviewed for a Nov. 9 China Daily article on how tariffs might affect holiday shopping in the United States. She stressed that the amount of corn and soybeans produced in the U.S. cannot just be consumed in this country. “So, if we want to keep the production at the volume that we have right now or even increase, we have to sell it in other countries,” she said.
• Nirupam Aich, McNeel Associate Professor of civil and environmental engineering, was interviewed for a Nov. 18 Newsweek article on new research by the Environmental Working Group revealing the widespread use of harmful pesticides in California. Aich said that the warm climate and year-round production in some California counties “create constant pest pressure, and large, industrialized farming operations often rely on standardized chemical programs to maintain yield and quality.”

Additional national news coverage in November included:

• Nebraska net farm income is expected to increase by 42% in 2025, to $8.42 billion, according to the latest projections from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the University of Missouri. The Nebraska outlook mirrors the national forecast of a 41% rise in U.S. farm income. Stories on the report appeared in Nebraska Public Media, Rural Radio Network, Farms.com and The Fence Post.
• Husker researchers Galen Erickson, Rick Rasby, Matt Spangler, Jessica L. Sperber, Rick Stowell, Tami Brown-Brandl, Samodha Fernando, Paul Kononoff, Kortney Harpestad and Keara O’Reilly wrote a Nov. 4 guest column for Beef magazine, “Understanding and mitigating cattle methane emissions.” “Ultimately, reducing methane emissions from cattle is a multifaceted challenge,” they wrote. “It requires balancing environmental goals with animal health, productivity and economic feasibility.
• Gustavo Castro Garcia, a doctoral student in agricultural engineering at Nebraska, recently completed a three-year study to assess performance characteristics of swine carcass disposal units and implications of each for contributing to disease transmission and groundwater contamination risks. His adviser, Amy Schmidt, biological systems engineering, wrote a Nov. 5 guest column for National Hog Farmer on the research.
• Merck Animal Health recently donated $20,000 to the university’s Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center to support a sustainability-focused research initiative to better understand nutrient requirements for feedlot cattle. Articles on the donation appeared Nov. 6 in American Ag Network, Beef magazine and High Plains Journal.
• With a new grant from the National Science Foundation and in collaboration with Princeton University, Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, School of Computing, aims to discover how natural structures in bacterial gene networks could be leveraged for artificial intelligence applications. Public News Service published a Nov. 11 article on the research.
• The university’s Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program has launched its 2025 Engler Christmas Catalog — a curated shopping guide featuring more than 50 businesses built by Engler students, alumni and founders. Articles on the catalog have appeared in KHGI, Rural Radio Network and Tri-State Livestock News. (Nov. 13)
• Innovators, entrepreneurs, producers, researchers, corporations and investors gathered in Gothenburg on Nov. 24 for the inaugural AgConverge Conference, Silicon Prairie News and Tri-State Livestock News reported. The producer-focused event showcased how agriculture, technology and entrepreneurship intersect to shape the future of food, energy and water. (Nov. 13)
• The University of Nebraska–Lincoln climbed seven spots to rank No. 35 globally in the 2026 Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine list of the Top 50 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs. Nebraska remains the top-ranked university in the state and No. 10 in the Midwest. Stories on the ranking appeared in KHGI, Silicon Prairie News and Tri-State Livestock News. (Nov. 14)
• With a three-year, $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Husker researchers Chi Zhang, biological sciences; Edgar Cahoon, biochemistry; and Bin Yu, biological sciences, will focus on the genome-wide identification of small gene fragments called microexons to advance knowledge on gene functions and regulation for oil accumulation and stress response in sorghum. KHGI and Biofuels Digest ran articles on the research. (Nov. 16)
• A seven-member team led by Xia Hong, physics and astronomy, aims to exploit ferroelectric oxides to control oxide and van der Waals materials in ways classical physicists only dreamed were possible. The work could lead to more powerful and energy-efficient electronic devices. Stories on the research appeared in KFXL, KHGI, KMTV and The Quantum Insider. (Nov. 17)
• Deb VanOverbeke, animal science, was interviewed for a Nov. 18 segment on RFD-TV. She discussed how the university is addressing workforce needs across the livestock industry.
• In 2026, the Nebraska Extension Master Gardener Volunteer program celebrates its 50th anniversary of cultivating knowledge, service and community impact across the state. Stories on the milestone appeared in KHGI, Nebraska Ag Connection and Tri-State Livestock News. (Nov. 19)
• Kevin Smith, political science, was interviewed for a Nov. 19 Roll Call article on the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Pete Ricketts and challenger Dan Osborn. “Party registration (in Nebraska) overwhelmingly favors Republicans, and that means that Dan Osborn doesn’t just have to win over a bunch of independents,” Smith said. “He’s going to (need to) peel off some Republicans, too.”
• Through Rural Prosperity Nebraska’s Entrepreneurial Communities Activation Process, residents of Verdigre, Nebraska, spent the summer working together to shape a clearer vision for their future. Tri-State Livestock News ran a Nov. 20 article on the effort.
• U.S. trade relations with Japan and other countries are headed in a direction that could put U.S. agriculture and other businesses on unstable ground, a former U.S. trade negotiator and head of an Asia trade think tank in Washington, D.C., said Nov. 19. Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, spoke at an event on campus co-sponsored by the Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Policy and the policy institute. DTN Progressive Farm published a Nov. 20 article on the event.
• The U.S. Drought Monitor — produced jointly by the university’s National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture — was cited in a Nov. 20 SF Gate article on recent storms easing drought conditions in California. The monitor found that just 0.7% of the state was in “severe drought” as of Nov. 18, down from more than 9% a week earlier.

Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews. If you have additions to the list, contact Sean Hagewood at shagewood2@unl.edu or 402-472-8514. If you have suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.