Chuck Hassebrook, Executive Director of the Center for Rural Affairs, specializes in commodity program reform, rural development policy, research and extension, rural revitalization, and higher education.

Hassebrook has been with the Center for 30 years, developing strategies for rural revitalization, devising farm program payment limitations and enhancing federal funding for rural programs. The Center for Rural Affairs has helped nearly 5,000 small businesses get started or survive, and has assisted in the development of nearly one dozen cooperatives.

He was instrumental in the passage of Initiative 300, Nebraska's anti-corporate farming amendment. He also was involved in the passage of federal agricultural tax reforms in the 1980s, research and rural development provisions of recent federal farm bills and a pioneering package of rural development initiatives passed by the Nebraska Legislature.

Hassebrook is serving his third elected term on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, which he currently Chairs. He also served on the National Commission on Small Farms, and co-chaired the USDA Agricultural Science and Technology Review Board.

He speaks extensively on federal farm and rural policy. Hassebrook's professional endeavors have brought several awards, including the Service to Agriculture Award presented by the Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award through the Central Nebraska Community College, and the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society Research Award.

Hassebrook is a University of Nebraska graduate and a native of Platte Center, Nebraska where his family is still engaged in farming. He lives in Lyons, Nebraska with his family.

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