Nebraska auditor says Wheat Board splurged on meals, spending almost $17,000 in 26 months

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley on Friday accused Wheat Board members and employees of living high on the hog with public funds.

An audit found that from January 2023 through February 2025, the board spent almost $17,000 on meals.

“The size of these aggregate costs is particularly surprising,” Foley wrote, “considering that no more than 10 people serve on and work for the Wheat Board.”

The board has only seven members and three employees, though some of the food money was spent on meals for trade delegations visiting Nebraska.

At a conference in Washington this year, four board members and three staff members spent a total of $847.47 at The Capital Grille, a high-end restaurant.

The meals included ribeye steak, filet mignon, lobster tail, scallop and lobster risotto, potatoes au gratin and creme brulee, according to the audit.

Per person, the cost came out to $121.07.

Foley said that is 455% of the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services’ per diem reimbursement rate for a meal in the nation’s capital.

Last fall, two board members and two employees spent $408.64 at a Fleming’s steakhouse in Arizona, the report says.

They each got steak dinners and also ordered grilled asparagus, potatoes and creme brulee.

The per-person cost was $102.16, the audit says, which is 405% of the state’s per diem for a dinner in Phoenix.

At both the Washington and Arizona restaurants, the groups put the meals on a Wheat Board credit card.

Foley said they should paid the tab themselves, then followed the state’s reimbursement process for work-related expenses.

“The DAS expense reimbursement rates, which are based on Federal guidelines, serve an important purpose,” Foley wrote. “They ensure that public officials and employees do not abuse their positions by squandering money intended for State programs for their own personal benefit.”

The Wheat Board — formally the Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board — is tasked with boosting Nebraska’s wheat industry.

It is funded in part by a tax on all wheat that is put up for sale in Nebraska.

In a response to the audit, the board it “will make every effort” to stay within per diem rates for meals in the future.