Nebraska Farm Bureau Welcomes Several New Hires
LINCOLN, NEB. – Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) has welcomed several new members to its team.
Chase Samuelson has been hired as the Central regional manager. Samuelson grew up on his family’s farm near Palmer and has been active in Farm Bureau, serving as a Governmental Relations intern in 2018 and is a Merrick County Farm Bureau member. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Samuelson comes to Nebraska Farm Bureau from State Bank of Scotia, where he was assistant vice president serving farmers and ranchers in Central Nebraska.
“We are very excited to have Chase join the Nebraska Farm Bureau team. He is passionate about ensuring that farmers and ranchers have a strong voice on the issues affecting their farms and ranches,” said Adam Peterson, NEFB senior director of leadership/field services.
Samuelson will work with county Farm Bureaus in 13 counties in the Central region, including Boone, Buffalo, Butler, Colfax, Greeley, Hall, Howard, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk, Sherman, and Valley.
Nebraska Farm Bureau has hired Austin Harthoorn to serve as economist. He recently graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics. Austin gathered experience through internships at USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) in Washington, D.C.; CHS Inc., and Archer Daniels Midland. Austin has contributed to numerous University of Nebraska publications, tackling a wide array of topics. Harthoorn grew on his family’s farm near Ainsworth where they run a longhorn cow/calf operation and grow row crops.
“The ability to identify the dollars and cents impacts of policy initiatives on our farm and ranch members is a critical piece of our advocacy efforts. Austin brings a passion for agriculture and an excellent skill set to help evaluate proposed legislation, regulations, evolving agricultural markets, and the agricultural production landscape as we work to serve our farm and ranch families. We’re extremely excited to have Austin join our team,” said Craig Head, NEFB chief advocacy officer.
Nebraska Farm Bureau hired Eric Paseka as comptroller for Nebraska Farm Bureau. Paseka grew up in Prague and graduated from Wayne State College. He joins Nebraska Farm Bureau from BMG Certified Public Accountants, LLP, and has more than 13 years of accounting and auditing experience. Eric has worked on the audit for Nebraska Farm Bureau corporations for 10 years, and his familiarity with NEFB’s business structure and accounts will help him as he gets started in his new role. He and his wife, Bridget, live in Lincoln with their sons, Lucas (9), Isaac (8), and Vincent (5).
“Any time we have staff changes, the NEFB leadership evaluates our organizational structure to make sure we are delivering value to our farm and ranch members. We are very happy to have Eric here on our Nebraska Farm Bureau team,” said Rob Robertson, NEFB chief administrator.
Paseka joined the staff, Aug. 15, Harthoorn joined the staff Sept. 21, and Samuelson joined the staff Sept. 12.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, statewide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. More than 55,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.
