Husker Produce Farm Harvests Food, Opportunity, Community Connections

By Troy Fedderson

The first harvest at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Husker Produce Farm is yielding more than tomatoes, potatoes and watermelon. It's feeding the community, giving students hands-on agricultural experience and putting down roots to grow stronger local food systems.

A $90,000 grant is helping transform an existing crop research site on the northern edge of East Campus into a working farm focused on food production, student learning and community outreach. The project was one of seven initiatives selected through a competitive review process funded by the university’s $1 million prize for winning the 2024 Abbott and Big Ten We Give Blood competition.

For Sam Wortman, a professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and the project’s principal investigator, the investment created an opportunity to build on specialty crop research conducted on the three-acre site since 2017.

“We want this farm to bring together all three parts of the university’s mission — research, teaching and outreach,” Wortman said. “Reliable, commercial-scale production gives students authentic, hands-on learning experiences that are difficult to replicate in a classroom, while allowing us to grow fresh food for our community. The goal is to connect what we do in research and education with real-world needs beyond the university.”