The Maxwell-Zikmund Farm · Rising City, Nebraska

A Czech Heritage Property

Over a Century of
Nebraska Stewardship

Joe and Anna Zikmund immigrated from Czechoslovakia to Brainard, Nebraska in 1910, arriving with little more than a determination to build a new life on the Great Plains. Joe quickly established himself as a skilled craftsman and community leader — at one point serving as mayor of Brainard — before acquiring this land and establishing the farm in 1937.

For nearly nine decades, the Maxwell-Zikmund Farm has remained in family hands, tended with the same care and pride that Joe brought when he first broke this ground. Today, the farm is owned by Maxwell Family LLC and leased annually to an experienced local farmer, continuing the tradition of productive Nebraska agriculture.

The farm is designated a Czech Heritage Property — a reflection of the immigrant story woven into its history and the enduring connection between the land and the families who have shaped it.

Joe Zikmund working his farm implement business in Brainard, Nebraska, 1912

Joe Zikmund, Brainard, Nebraska — 1912, just two years after immigrating from Czechoslovakia

Maxwell-Zikmund Farm heritage sign, established 1937 by Joe and Anna Zikmund

Left: The Zikmund family | Right: Farm heritage sign at Maxwell East — corn harvest underway

Farmer and farm manager inspecting soil on Maxwell West, looking south toward Highway 92

Maxwell LLC members and farmer at the irrigation well and pump on Maxwell West

Looking north across Maxwell East from Highway 92, 345kV transmission tower visible

Top: Soil inspection on Maxwell West | Bottom left: Members and farmer at the irrigation well | Bottom right: 345kV transmission line along the east boundary

The Farm Today

311 Acres of
Productive Nebraska Land

The Maxwell-Zikmund Farm comprises 311 acres of flat, productive agricultural land in Reading Township, Butler County — divided into Maxwell East (155 acres, SW Section 12) and Maxwell West (156 acres, SE Section 11).

The farm grows primarily corn, supported by an active center-pivot irrigation system drawing from the productive Platte River alluvial aquifer system in the Big Blue River basin. An experienced local farmer manages day-to-day operations under an annual lease with Maxwell Family LLC, maintaining the land's agricultural productivity while preserving the stewardship traditions established by the Zikmund family.

In 2024, the farm completed a meaningful infrastructure upgrade: the original diesel-driven engine powering the irrigation pump was replaced with an electric motor. The conversion reduces operating costs by eliminating expensive diesel fuel, lowers the farm's carbon footprint, and reflects an ongoing commitment to responsible land stewardship.

The farm sits at 1,588 feet above sea level with minimal topographic variation — ideal for large-scale row crop production and well-suited for future development requiring flat, accessible acreage. Direct frontage on Highway 92 provides convenient access from the south boundary, with county road grid access from the north and east.

Infrastructure

Four Critical Utilities.
One Remarkable Site.

What makes the Maxwell-Zikmund Farm exceptional is not just the land — it is the rare convergence of four major utility corridors accessible from a single property. High-voltage electric transmission, deep aquifer water, interstate natural gas, and long-haul fiber optic all come together here, at a scale that takes most industrial sites years and tens of millions of dollars to assemble.

In Nebraska's expanding infrastructure landscape, properties with this combination of on-boundary or near-boundary utility access are exceedingly rare. The farm's location in the Highway 92 corridor — between the Sarpy-Omaha-Lincoln data center market and central Nebraska's power backbone — positions it at the intersection of today's agricultural economy and tomorrow's industrial demand.

345kV NPPD transmission line running along the east boundary of Maxwell East

345kV NPPD transmission line — east boundary of Maxwell East

⚡

Electric Power

Dual-feed transmission access from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), a 100% consumer-owned utility with industrial rates 20–30% below national averages.

345kV NPPD backbone line along east boundary — no easement acquisition needed
115kV secondary line terminates at substation approximately 1.5 miles north
Dual-feed configuration enables N+1 power redundancy
NPPD Columbus East–Lincoln 68th and Holdrege corridor — major central Nebraska transmission artery
Electric service already active on-site — irrigation pump converted from diesel to electric motor in 2024

💧

Water

On-site access to the productive Platte River alluvial aquifer system through an established, high-yield irrigation well on Maxwell West — a 65-year operating history (drilled 1960) with exceptional well performance and no neighboring well interference within the statutory 1,000-foot spacing radius.

1,000 GPM pump rate with only 25 ft of drawdown (static 72 ft, pumping 97 ft) — indicating substantial saturated thickness and excellent specific capacity
Platte alluvial aquifer system in the Big Blue River drainage basin — distinct from the thin upland aquifers found further from the river valley
Suitable for closed-loop or adiabatic industrial cooling at substantially lower withdrawal rates than the existing irrigation baseline

🔥

Natural Gas

Northern Natural Gas (NNG) interstate pipeline transits Butler County less than one mile north of Maxwell West — a critical proximity for industrial gas supply at meaningful scale.

NNG interstate pipeline — primary Midwest E–W corridor, high-volume capacity
NorthWestern Energy intra-state distribution network serves Butler County
Pipeline proximity makes a direct tap feasible for industrial-scale consumers
Enables on-site power generation, backup systems, or process heat applications

📡

Fiber Connectivity

The 345kV NPPD line on the east boundary carries optical ground wire (OPGW) — utility fiber installed at original construction in 2009. This is hyperscale-grade infrastructure available for direct dark fiber arrangements; commercial carrier fiber along Hwy 92 provides additional options for smaller deployments.

NPPD OPGW on 345kV ETR Phase II line — direct dark fiber leasing available under Nebraska PSC safe-harbor rates (Docket C-5461/PI-244)
Lincoln Electric System (LES) joint fiber ownership — diverse path options to the Lincoln metro
Hwy 92 commercial carriers — OPTK Networks, Windstream/Kinetic, Network Nebraska for managed services and smaller-scale connectivity
Site sits directly beneath the 345kV corridor — minimal lateral build required to reach NPPD's nearest substation tap

Zoning & Future Land Use

Designated for Commercial / Light Industrial

In its recently published 2026/2036 Existing and Future Land Use Map, the Butler County Planning Commission has designated the Maxwell-Zikmund Farm and surrounding parcels as a future Commercial / Light Industrial zone. This designation substantially de-risks the rezoning process for any commercial or industrial buyer and signals strong county-level support for development at this location.

Butler County 2026/2036 Future Land Use Map

Full Butler County 2026/2036 Existing and Future Land Use Map

Detail of Butler County Future Land Use Map showing the Maxwell-Zikmund Farm within a designated Commercial/Light Industrial zone near Rising City

Source: Butler County Planning Commission · 2026/2036 Comprehensive Plan · Hanna:Keelan Associates

Why this matters for buyers: A favorable Future Land Use designation is one of the strongest signals a county can give that a parcel is appropriate for non-agricultural development. It dramatically simplifies the path to formal rezoning and reduces both timeline and regulatory risk for a commercial or industrial buyer.

Development Potential

A Site Built for
What Comes Next

The convergence of electric, water, gas, and fiber infrastructure — combined with 311 flat, accessible acres and a prime Nebraska corridor location — makes Maxwell-Zikmund Farm well-suited for a range of high-value industrial and energy development uses.

Agricultural Processing & Agri-Industrial

Butler County sits in the heart of Nebraska's corn belt, with a strong local precedent for major ag-industrial investment — AGP's $700M soybean processing facility opened in David City in 2025. The Maxwell-Zikmund Farm's combination of Highway 92 frontage, on-boundary electric transmission, on-site groundwater, NPPD fiber proximity, and Northern Natural Gas access makes it well-suited for a broad range of ag-related and ag-adjacent industrial uses. Strong candidates include grain handling and commercial storage, fertilizer blending and distribution, seed conditioning and treatment, dairy and food processing, pet food manufacturing, ethanol co-product processing, ag equipment manufacturing, and cold storage logistics. These uses align with Butler County's stated planning preference for ag-related industrial development and benefit from the same infrastructure convergence that distinguishes the site.

🌽 Corn belt location · ⚡ 345kV on-boundary · 💧 On-site water · 🚛 Hwy 92 frontage · 📡 NPPD fiber

Agricultural Technology Infrastructure

Modern precision agriculture — variable rate irrigation, AI-driven crop stress detection, autonomous equipment, drone-based scouting, and emerging robotic harvesting — depends on three things: sensors in the field, fast local networks, and computational power nearby. The Maxwell-Zikmund Farm has the infrastructure to host the regional digital infrastructure that enables the future of farming in eastern Nebraska. Sub-millisecond network latency to local agricultural operations supports real-time autonomous decisions that would otherwise require round-trip latency to Omaha, Denver, or Chicago. Even when serving other tenants — colocation, cloud services, or AI workloads — a facility on this site improves the regional network fabric that local farms and ag-tech operators depend on. The dual-feed 345kV + 115kV electric access, the reduced water requirement of closed-loop or adiabatic cooling relative to current irrigation withdrawal, and the NPPD optical ground wire fiber co-located on the 345kV corridor together make this a credible site for ag-tech anchor infrastructure.

⚡ 345kV on-boundary · 💧 Closed-loop cooling · 📡 NPPD OPGW + carrier fiber · 🚜 Precision ag enablement

Solar Power Generation

311 acres of flat, unobstructed agricultural land in a high-solar-irradiance region presents a strong technical foundation for utility-scale solar development, with on-boundary 345kV transmission access supporting direct grid interconnection. Note that commercial solar development is currently disfavored by the Butler County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors and is subject to a development moratorium adopted in early 2026; future eligibility will depend on the comprehensive plan and zoning regulations under development through 2026.

⚡ Grid interconnect ready · 🌞 High irradiance corridor · ⚠️ Subject to county moratorium

Battery Energy Storage

The site's direct 345kV transmission access could support utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) capturing value from Nebraska's dynamic grid pricing and providing firm power delivery. Like commercial solar, BESS development is currently subject to the Butler County development moratorium and is not among the Planning Commission's preferred land uses; future eligibility will depend on the comprehensive plan and zoning regulations under development.

⚡ Grid interconnect ready · 🔋 Dynamic pricing capture · ⚠️ Subject to county moratorium

Site Specifications

Property At a Glance

Attribute	Detail	Notes
Total Area	311 acres	Maxwell East 155 ac + Maxwell West 156 ac
Location	Reading Township, Butler County, NE	Near Rising City, NE · Highway 92 Corridor
Highway Frontage	Direct Hwy 92 frontage	South boundary of both parcels
Road Access	Hwy 92 + county road grid	County Road F between the parcels provides for multiple access points
Topography	Flat agricultural land	Minimal grading required for development
Elevation	1,588 ft above sea level	Consistent across both parcels
Current Use	Row crop agriculture (corn)	Leased annually to local farmer
Zoning	Agricultural (current)	Designated Commercial / Light Industrial in Butler County 2026/2036 Future Land Use Plan
Electric	345kV NPPD on east boundary	115kV substation approx. 1.5 miles north; dual-feed capable
Water	Active irrigation well — Platte alluvial aquifer	1,000 GPM, only 25 ft drawdown; 65-year operating history (G-020944, 263.17 certified acres)
Natural Gas	NNG interstate pipeline	Less than 1 mile north of both parcels
Fiber	NPPD OPGW on 345kV line	Direct dark fiber available; Hwy 92 commercial carriers (OPTK, Windstream/Kinetic, Network Nebraska) provide additional options

The Maxwell‑Zikmund Farm

Over a Century of
Nebraska Stewardship

311 Acres of
Productive Nebraska Land

Four Critical Utilities.
One Remarkable Site.

Electric Power

Water

Natural Gas

Fiber Connectivity

Where to Find This Property

Designated for Commercial / Light Industrial

A Site Built for
What Comes Next

Agricultural Processing & Agri-Industrial

Agricultural Technology Infrastructure

Solar Power Generation

Battery Energy Storage

Property At a Glance

Let’s Talk About
This Property

The Maxwell‑Zikmund Farm

Over a Century ofNebraska Stewardship

311 Acres ofProductive Nebraska Land

Four Critical Utilities.One Remarkable Site.

Electric Power

Water

Natural Gas

Fiber Connectivity

Where to Find This Property

Designated for Commercial / Light Industrial

A Site Built forWhat Comes Next

Agricultural Processing & Agri-Industrial

Agricultural Technology Infrastructure

Solar Power Generation

Battery Energy Storage

Property At a Glance

Let’s Talk AboutThis Property

Over a Century of
Nebraska Stewardship

311 Acres of
Productive Nebraska Land

Four Critical Utilities.
One Remarkable Site.

A Site Built for
What Comes Next

Let’s Talk About
This Property