Building Nebraska

A journey that started on the big island of Hawaii’s Kona Coast now finds itself on main street of Oshkosh, Nebraska. The dream of Mark Ferrari Specialty Coffees began with Mark Ferrari’s childhood, where he grew up working on his family’s coffee farm.   Ferrari became a student of coffee roasting, learning from valued mentors and accepting the process of trial and error. His experiences in Hawaii...

For over 40 years, Brown Sheep Company has been spinning high quality, natural fiber yarn near Mitchell, Nebraska.  The now third-generation business was started by Harlan and Janet Brown. Harlan, a sheep farmer, got the idea to spin his own yarn when his daughter asked for a spinning wheel for Christmas.  At this same time, many textile companies on the east coast were struggling to get by. Harla...

Nestled in the Nebraska Panhandle, the cattle that call Schuler Red Angus home are part of a much larger story.   For five generations, the Schuler family has moved forward with grit, perseverance, and a dedication to the land. For the past three generations, this has included owning and operating a commercial cow calf operation. Additionally, Schuler Red Angus provides dependable genetics for cat...

A taste of Texas has found its home in the heart of Alliance, Nebraska.   Husband and wife duo, Fletcher and Flor Sheridan, took a leap of faith and opened Golden Hour Barbecue in March of 2024. Since then, they have quickly become a community favorite and downtown staple.   After learning the ropes from seasoned barbecue establishments, Fletcher and Flor have honed in on their offerings. Their fo...

How did a small family business turn into a state of the art, world renowned cattle feedyard? The answer lies with brother duo Jerry and Bill Adams. Their parents, Russell Jr. and Angenette Adams began backgrounding a few thousand cattle. These days, the operation has a feeding capacity of 125,000 head, with another 125,000 being backgrounded. Since the beginning, Adams has been dedicated to adopt...

Scratchtown Brewing Company, based in Ord, Nebraska, is a local brewery rooted in rural revitalization and community development. In this episode of Building Nebraska, co-owner Caleb Pollard shared insights into the challenges and triumphs faced by the brewery, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with his thoughts on the importance of rural revitalization and community collaboration. Op...

On the outside, Crusty’s Feed Store may look like any feed store. But inside, it’s a lifeline for producers, offering the tools and supplies needed to raise some of the best cattle herds in the country. Owners Jason and Kari Christensen opened Crusty’s Feed Store in Arthur, Nebraska, over seven years ago. With minimal experience in livestock nutrition, the husband-wife duo was determined to suppor...

Normal Roasting Company, nestled in the heart of Burwell, Nebraska, has become an unexpected hub of community and craftsmanship, roasting beans with passion and precision that rival any urban coffee roaster.  Owners Josh and Sara Holmquist purchased Normal Roasting in March of 2017. Since then, they moved the business from Arcadia to Burwell and have grown the business to be a staple in their comm...

Tim Vala describes himself as a city boy raised in Omaha, but he had a wild idea: he could become a farmer. With little more than determination and a dream, he found land that he could buy bit by bit. When he bought his first tractor, he didn’t even know how to drive it home. His first crops of fruits and vegetables? He had no idea how to grow them. But through research, self-education, and pure p...

It was a simple, yet powerful, challenge that launched a father-son duo to invent a life-saving robot. A farmer in rural Nebraska, told Chad Johnson and his son Ben they needed to invent something to keep farmers out of grain bins. The Johnsons were experienced in robotics. So Chad, a teacher by trade with no knowledge of the ag industry, said “challenge accepted.” That’s when the Grain Weevil was...

Running a business is hard. Running a business with your spouse is harder. But Andrew and Alix Ambriz - owners of Embers Bakery & Cafe in McCook, Nebraska – are navigating marriage and parenthood while providing their community with a place to gather. Pretty cool, right? But how does a bakery and cafe in rural southwest Nebraska continue to hand-source its baked goods and find staff to keep its do...

In a bold move with no prior experience in the bakery business, a husband-and-wife duo purchased one of the most well-known bakeries in Nebraska. Alix and Andrew Ambriz didn’t grow up in McCook, Nebraska, nor did they have any background in baking. But that didn’t stop them from taking a leap of faith in buying Sehnert’s Bakery, a staple of southwest Nebraska, three years ago. Over the decades, Se...

At Baker’s Candies, family isn’t just a value—it’s the foundation of their success. In this episode of Building Nebraska, CEO Todd Baker shares how he and his brother have carved out unique roles within the business while keeping their family at the heart of every decision. “The great thing for us as a family is that we're not motivated by money. When money becomes the principal value of a busines...

Baker’s Candies founder Kevin Baker set out to make a product that “Nebraska could be proud of.” These days, the company produces what is affectionately known as “Nebraska’s Chocolate.” Though the sweet, delectable chocolates are a point of pride for Nebraska residents, “Nebraska’s Chocolate” has not stayed within state lines. The product is now sold in all 50 states and many countries. CEO Todd B...

Would you believe us if we told you Nebraska’s favorite chocolate was created by an engineer who found himself without a job? Kevin Baker, founder of Baker’s Candies, worked for the U.S. Department of Defense during the end of the Vietnam War through the Cold War. He mass-produced missiles, but when the Cold War ended, those missiles were never fired, and his job was no longer needed. In 1987, Kev...