The Sidney Sun-Telegraph - Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper

Nebraskans know every drop of water is precious.  Agriculture is our top industry.  It makes up 20% of our economy, and it generates one in four jobs in our state. 

Access to water makes this possible.  We have the most irrigated acres of cropland in the country.  Three of eight acres of farmland in Nebraska are irrigated.  

Fifty years ago, far-sighted Nebraskans set up a system of water management, including our Natural Resources Districts (NRDs), that has allowed us to manage our water based on river basin.  This has allowed our state to maintain the Ogallala Aquifer within one f...