Nebraska Agribusiness Club recognizes three honorees

LINCOLN, Neb. – Three Nebraskans were honored for their service and dedication to agriculture at the Nebraska Agribusiness Club's 48th annual awards banquet at Hillcrest Country Club.

The 2014 honorees for Public Service to Agriculture are Don Anthony of Lexington and Stan Jensen of York. The club also recognized Brandon Hunnicutt as the New Horizon Award honoree.

Anthony, president of Anthony Land Company, farms 1,300 acres of irrigated corn, soybeans, and alfalfa plus custom farming near Lexington. In addition, he has been extremely active in his service on farmer-owned cooperative boards, serving on the board and as chair of All Points Cooperative, Farmland Industries and Nebraska Cooperative Council.

He serves as a chair of the CHS Inc. Board of Directors. He has earned many honors and recognitions. He is also involved with Ag Builders of Nebraska, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Ag Economics Advisory Board and Nebraska Beginning Farmer Board.

Jensen, a 1994 retiree from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, is best known as a successful corn breeder, and has made significant contributions to many areas of the agriculture industry. His 40-year career with Pioneer led him to many honors and awards, but some of his most notable professional accomplishments surround the development of 161 useful inbred lines of corn.

At least one of his lines has been used in 39 successful single-cross hybrids marketed in the U.S. by Pioneer and recognized as a leading authority in drought studies. He was also instrumental in the idea and the development of a harvester that would handle two plots simultaneously to speed harvesting and permit more hybrids to be evaluated. Jensen has been active in the York Public Schools Board of Education along with many nonprofit organizations.

Hunnicutt is involved in several aspects of production agriculture. He farms with his brother and father in Hamilton County. They raise irrigated corn, popcorn and soybeans on the farm that has been in the family for over 100 years.

He is also active in the Nebraska Agriculture Technology Association, Hamilton County Farm Bureau and Hamilton County Corn Growers Association. He's a member of the Nebraska Soybean Association and the Agriculture Builders of Nebraska. He's the past president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and Past Chairman of the Grower Services Action Team for the National Corn Growers Association and currently sits on their Trade Policy and Biotech Action Team. He serves as a board member for the Nebraska Corn Board and on the Ag Advisory Committee for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication.