Bob’s abilities, integrity and professionalism made him a valued advocate for Nebraska agriculture, earning him state and national recognition for his visionary leadership of farmer and rancher owned cooperatives. He was known for his integrity and honesty in protecting the interests of Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives. Bob believed in the mutual benefit of forging strong working relationships between Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives and the University.
Bob Andersen, who grew up on the family farm near Valley, NE, and served two tours of duty in the United State Navy during the Vietnam War, spent his entire professional career making outstanding contributions to Nebraska’s agriculture industry and its natural resources as President of the Nebraska Cooperative Council. After serving in Vietnam, Bob enrolled in the University of Nebraska in 1968 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1972.
As President of the Nebraska Cooperative Council for 42 years, Bob’s abilities, integrity and professionalism made him a valued advocate for Nebraska agriculture, earning him state and national recognition for his visionary leadership of farmer and rancher owned cooperatives. He effectively mentored cooperatives statewide by assisting with their organization, leadership, education, and financial stewardship. During Bob’s tenure, more than 24,000 people attended the council’s education programs. In 1978 Bob was instrumental in creating the Director Certification Program for cooperative directors. This program has become a model for cooperative director education across the United States. He also was an effective leader at the national level, serving as a director of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives for more than 20 years.
Bob’s contributions to Nebraska agriculture goes far beyond the Cooperative Council. A strong supporter of the University of Nebraska and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bob believed that a strong working relationship between Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives and the College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, particularly with the Department of Agricultural Economics, was of mutual benefit to the University and to the farmer owned cooperatives.
He urged the formation of the Nebraska Cooperative Council Education Foundation and raised money to establish a scholarship program in honor of Dr. Mike Turner, a retired agricultural economist who spent much of his career in the Department of Agricultural Economics and through extension work assisted many of Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives. To date, the Turner Scholarship program has funded $130,000 in scholarships that have been awarded to 170 students. In 2016 the Nebraska Cooperative Council Education Foundation honored Bob in establishing the Robert C. Andersen Scholarship for undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The first $2,500 Robert C. Andersen Scholarship will be awarded for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Bob also worked closely with IANR, CASNR and the Department of Agricultural Economics for the Nebraska Cooperative Council to participate in the funding of a full-time faculty position in education and extension to focus on Nebraska’s agricultural cooperatives. Dr. Gregory McKee was engaged in 2016 to fill this tenure track position.
He also had an impact on legislation. Relentless in his advocacy for cooperative and rural issues, Bob spend a significant amount of time working with state senators to inform them about how a particular issue would impact agriculture and the cooperatives. He was known for his integrity and honesty in working with members of Nebraska’s legislature in protecting the interests of Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives. He also worked closely with state agency heads to advocate for regulatory “common sense,” which meant following statutory intent but developing regulations that allowed cooperatives and their member producers to meet the regulations without unduly disrupting their operations.
His honors include the Nebraska Corn Board Elevator Industry Award; the Nebraska Ag Relations Council Ag Relations Award; the Nebraska Rural Radio Association Service to Agriculture Award and the Nebraska Agri-Business Club Public Service to Agriculture Award. Following his retirement, the Nebraska Cooperative Council, unanimously waived all otherwise applicable waiting periods and inducted Bob into the Nebraska Cooperative Council Hall of Fame.
Bob has served on the boards of the Agriculture Builders of Nebraska, the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council (LEAD), the Ag 40 and the Nebraska 4-H Foundation. A member of the board of the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District for 28 years, he brought his knowledge of agriculture, the variability of the farm economy and the strong relationship between the producer and the land to the board. His counsel was especially important for this NRD because most of the board members live in Lincoln and other urban areas; the district’s constituency is 90 percent urban and suburban; and the tax base is 90 percent urban. He also actively participated in the policy and legislative deliberations of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts.
As of 2016, Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives had a $2.2 billion economic impact on the state of Nebraska. These entities directly employed approximately 6,500 and indirectly employed approximately 14,000 Nebraskans. Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives had an annual payroll of approximately $308 million and annual tax impacts in Nebraska of nearly $118 million. Over the three years encompassed by the 2016 economic impact study, Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives had invested $200 million annually into property plant and equipment to serve their respective farmer patron’s needs. While there has been substantial consolidation of Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives in the last three decades, as of 2017 there remain cooperative locations in 376 rural Nebraska communities. Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperative returned nearly $100 million annually in the years leading up to 2016 back into those communities in the form of cash payments of patronage, equity redemption and estate redemption to their farmer owners. No other agricultural supply or grain company can claim to be such an integral part of the economic fabric of rural Nebraska.
As the son of a Nebraska farmer, and as a man who served his country with honor and his industry with a passion, Robert Andersen’s stewardship of the Nebraska Cooperative Council for 42 years has been essential to the success of Nebraska’s farmer owned cooperatives and their contributions of Nebraska agriculture.
I congratulate the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement on their excellent decision to name Robert Andersen a 2017 Honoree of the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement. Last, but not least, I congratulate Bob Andersen, his wife, Jackie, and their sons, Edward and Robert on this most deserved honor.
