To celebrate 35 years of the Center's work is an article series produced for our monthly newsletter. We used the series as an opportunity to reflect on where the Center has been and where it is going.

Renewable Energy & Conservation
Looking back at 35 years of Center for Rural Affairs history, it is easy to see some of the landmark projects that defined the Center for Rural Affairs. Reports like Who Will Sit Up With the Corporate Sow? and Wheels of Fortune put the Center on the map when it came to research and policy. But the Center also became know for its work with farmers on the ground, in rural Nebraska. One of the very first projects of the Center, the Small Farm Energy Project, defined the Center and its values in a way that rings true today. Read more.

Good Decision Making Minds the Present and Future
Our 35 years of decision making have taught us that good decisions are based on what is best for our local community and beyond, for this generation and future generations. An early meeting with a Sandhills irrigator taught me something I will never forget. Read more.

Wheels of Fortune Report Drew Thoughtful Conclusions and National Attention
The Center for Rural Affairs’ 1976 report Wheels of Fortune was written five years before I was born and 31 years before I came to work at the Center. And before I sat down to write this newsletter article I had heard of the report, but had not read it. The report was intended to spur debate about irrigation trends in Nebraska. It worked. Read more.

Sense of Mission and Purpose Drives CFRA’s staff and work
Thirty-five years is a long time. That’s how long the Center for Rural Affairs has been standing up for rural America. In fact, our official birthday was Sep. 5. And like anything that’s been around that long, we’ve changed some. Read more.

Positive Change in Rural America Begins with Proactive Rural Americans
The key to changing the course of history in rural America is winning the hearts and minds of our fellow rural people, and working with them to take control of our future. That is one of the most critical lessons of the 35-year history of the Center for Rural Affairs. Read more.

Putting Rural in the National Media Spotlight
I spent a recent Sunday reading 28 years worth of articles in The New York Times that quote, reference or were penned by Center for Rural Affairs’ staff. It took all day. Since 1980 the Center for Rural Affairs has made the pages of the nation’s leading newspaper 33 times. Read more.

Leadership Found in Grassroots Values
Whenever the staff talked about salaries at the Center for Rural Affairs, the organization’s cofounder Marty Strange used to say, “If you are keeping count, you are falling behind.” Read more.

The Next 35 Years: Creating Opportunities and Facing Challenges
We spent the last year in the newsletter reflecting on 35 years of work at the Center for Rural Affairs. Since the Center began in 1974, rural America has changed significantly. The number of farms, the farm population, and the overall rural population have all declined. Read more.