Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer on the ranch she owns with her husband, Bruce, near Valentine, Nebraska. A bill she authored would require meatpackers to acquire more of the cattle they slaughter through bidding on open livestock markets. “We need every segment of this industry to be able to succeed,” Fischer said. “Livestock is the economic driver of the state of Nebraska.”
What does Nebraska sell? The state's biggest exports by value
1 - Beef
Beef
Nebraska regularly leads the nation in beef exports. The state's cattle ranchers send more than $1 billion in beef overseas each year.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
2 - Combine harvester-threshers
Combines
Exports of combines edged out corn in 2017, with the state sending $431 million worth of combine harvesters overseas that year.
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
3 - Corn
Corn
It should be no surprise that the Cornhusker state sells a lot of corn. In 2017, Nebraska exported $430 million worth of corn.
JON LEMONS/THE WORLD-HERALD
4 - Soybeans
Soybeans
Along with corn, soybeans are the state's big crop. Altogether, Nebraska exported about half a billion dollars' worth of soybeans and soybean products in 2017.
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
5 - Natural gas
Natural gas
Nebraska's natural gas exports fluctuate year to year, but it's consistently among the state's top exports. In 2017, the state exported $211 million worth of gas.
6 - pork
Pork
Cattle is king in Nebraska, but producers like this family farm in Osmond, Nebraska, still export more than $350 million of pork products each year.
BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
7 - Syringes
Syringes
They may not seem like a Nebraska product, but the state exports more than $100 million in syringes each year. One reason? Medical technology company Becton Dickinson has multiple plants in Nebraska and employs about 2,500 people in the state.
KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
4 - nuclear components
Nuclear parts
Nebraska's main non-agriculture export is nuclear components, which totaled $920 million in 2019.
CODY WINCHESTER, THE WORLD-HERALD
6 - Miscellaneous chemicals
Miscellaneous chemicals
Chemicals are among Nebraska's fastest-growing exports. The state sent $372 million worth overseas in 2019, a 403% increase from 2010.
The occasional Omaha World-Herald series "The State of Beef" takes a look at the challenges facing Nebraska’s beef industry, worth more than $…
Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer on the ranch she owns with her husband, Bruce, near Valentine, Nebraska. A bill she authored would require meatpackers to acquire more of the cattle they slaughter through bidding on open livestock markets. “We need every segment of this industry to be able to succeed,” Fischer said. “Livestock is the economic driver of the state of Nebraska.”
