The Nebraska Dry Pea & Lentil Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of Stetson Shreve as the new District 1 Director. He was officially appointed on August 14, 2025 by Governor Jim Pillen. New officers for 2025-2026 were elected as well, naming Tyler Hughes as Chairman and Eric Thalken as Vice Chairman.
Rooted in Alliance, Shreve farms in Box Butte, Keith, Garden and Deuel County, grows corn, sugar beets, wheat, chickpeas, edible beans and oats. Shreve started farming in 2003 and has a long-standing connection to the Nebraska Dry Pea & Lentil Commission, producing a substantial amount of chickpeas annually and previously growing green and yellow field peas and lentils. Shreve also serves on the Box Butte County Development Board.
In his new role, Shreve will represent producers in District 1 and help guide the commission’s efforts to support Nebraska’s pulse industry through research, promotion, and education. His goal is to promote new chickpea varieties that perform well in Nebraska’s growing conditions. Shreve will serve a three-year term, representing growers in western Nebraska and helping strengthen opportunities for pulse production across the state.
Hughes, serving his second term for District 2, is a fourth-generation farmer in Chase and Perkins Counties, where he farms alongside his father and sister. Their operation includes hard red winter wheat, corn, proso millet, pinto beans and yellow field peas. Tyler and his wife live in Imperial with their two children, Nolan and Lainey.
“If we are able to achieve earlier planting dates, we hope that can translate into a longer growing season with greater yield potential,” said Hughes.
Thalken, appointed in June 2024 to serve for District 3, raises 100% organic crops including yellow corn, blue corn, popcorn, yellow peas and soybeans in eastern central and northwest Nebraska
“I hope for great nodulation, prolific flowering and abundant yields,” said Thalken. Hughes and Thalken will serve in their officer roles through June 2026 and will work diligently to enhance the pulse industry at a state and national level.
