Nebraska is an agricultural state, and farm policy affects us all -- even if you live in a city.

Ag policy covers a lot of areas, and that's something former U.S. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns knows well. The Republican now wants to work on Ag issues from inside the Senate.

Johanns supports conservation programs for farmers. He wants more rural development efforts, including infrastructure improvements in rural communities, and he supports efforts to expand trade. He'd keep farm subsidies but cap payments to the wealthiest landowners.

"You need a strong safety net. Farmers want to farm for the market place. They don't want to farm for a farm program, but there are circumstances where those prices drop so far that you need a floor. You need a safety net where you can say to our country, you don't need to worry about your food supply because this is only going to go to a certain point. If you're really, really going to impact policy, you need to do more than just propose. That's what you do as a cabinet member, you propose, but Congress writes the law. What I really needed was a vote," Johanns said.

Pat Flynn would target Ag programs for budget cuts, and he favors a risk management program to protect farmers from swings in the market.

"I do believe we can have risk management accounts where they can buy some type of insurance or savings plan, either way, where they can, through good times and bad, either way, they can make it. But I just think when we pay 110,000 employees with the Department of Agriculture, that's a lot of money that can be saved. If any of it has to go back, it can be a simple program like a risk management program," Flynn said.

The Democrats have their own stance on farm policy.

Former ranch hand Scott Kleeb believes droughts occur frequently enough to include relief as a permanent part of the farm bill, so Congress could respond quicker to disasters.

Kleeb favors programs to encourage young farmers and ranchers, and he wants to make sure farm payments go to those who really need the help, though he believes subsidies are still a necessary part of the program.

"Commodity prices are very high right now, but so are fuel costs, so are seed costs, so is fertilizer, so are all the inputs to make the farm or the ranch operate. So, you know, folks aren't out there making millions because of this. Their costs are going up, too. So we need to make sure that we maintain that safety level, because it's important for our daily life, here in Lincoln, across our state and actually across our country," Kleeb said.

Tony Raimondo has an Ag connection through his business, Behlen manufacturing. He favors a cap on farm subsidies to exclude the wealthiest producers, and he's critical of a decision by the USDA to close several farm service agencies in Nebraska.

"The farm bill should be focused on making farmers and farming families better off. The big corporate environments, they're big and they're corporate. We all know the story why they have substantially more profits than the small family farmer. So the focus should be on the family farm. I found it also discouraging that we walked away from ten FSA locations in Nebraska. We're putting more burden on our family farmers and ranchers instead of less," Raimondo said.