Ricketts Appoints New Directors to Wheat Board

Lincoln, NE— Governor Pete Ricketts recently appointed Kent Lorens from Stratton as director for District 4 and Jared Sayer from Cambridge as director for District 5 to the Nebraska Wheat Board (NWB). 

Kent will be serving his second term as District 4 director for the Nebraska Wheat Board. The Lorens family has been farming in Hitchcock County since 1986 when Kent and his wife Marilyn took over the family farm. Along with serving on the NWB, Kent is also active in his community, serving on the local school board, the Hitchcock County Farm Bureau, and holding leadership roles in his church. Kent and Marilyn have four children. They raise primarily wheat on their farm and also have a cow/calf herd. Kent currently sits on the Food Aid Committee for U.S. Wheat Associates and has traveled around the world to help promote wheat to international customers.

Jared is a fourth-generation farmer, raising irrigated and dryland soybeans, corn, wheat, grain sorghum, oats, alfalfa and sunflowers while also managing a 300 head cow-calf operation. Jared and his wife, Julie, have four children and reside near Cambridge, NE. The whole family enjoys working together on the family farm. Along with farming, Jared also works as a crop adjuster for Hudson Insurance Group and runs his own trucking company. Within the community, Sayer is involved in Furnas County 4-H, holding a position on both their Counsel and Extension Board, and serving on the beef, swine and livestock sale committees. “I am delighted to serve on the Nebraska Wheat Board to help advocate the use of more wheat in both our state and our export market,” Sayer says.

Royce Schaneman, NWB executive director, is confident that Lorens and Sayer will both bring great leadership and ideas to the Board. “I am excited for Jared to join the Board and to continue working alongside Kent throughout his second term,” stated Royce. “I know they will both work hard to advance wheat development and marketing within Nebraska and across the globe.”

Lorens will serve a five-year term that will conclude June 30, 2026. As District 4 director he will represent Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Hayes, Hitchcock, and Lincoln counties.  Sayer will serve a five-year erm that will conclude June 30, 2025. As District 5 director he will represent Buffalo, Custer, Dawson, Franklin, Furnas, Gosper, Harlan, Kearney, Phelps and Red Willow counties.

The Nebraska Wheat Board administers the check-off of 0.4 percent of net value of wheat marketed in Nebraska at the point of first sale. 

The board invests the funds in programs of international and domestic market development and improvement, policy development, research, promotion, and education.