Blog Posts & Stories

Across the U.S., lawmakers are gathering in their state capitols and Washington, D.C. to begin another year of debating and passing legislation.

Desde que sale el sol hasta que se pone, se puede encontrar a Montana Thatcher en su guardería, Tana’s Tiny Tots, cuidando con dedicación a los niños de 24 familias del área de Fairfield, Nebraska.

From sunup to sundown, you’ll find Montana Thatcher at her day care, Tana’s Tiny Tots, diligently watching over the children of 24 families from the Fairfield, Nebraska, area.

Individuals and health care providers face major challenges from a trio of policies set in motion by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and Congress’s failure thus far to extend expiring...

Devastating cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not only harm the people who depend on the program to feed their families, but will also disproportionately harm rural...

In the four states where the Center for Rural Affairs is currently engaged in policy work—Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota—elected representatives will debate a host of issues in 2026. We...

The Center for Rural Affairs’ work in 2025 reflected many of the priorities rural communities continue to raise: access to essential services, locally owned businesses, innovative approaches to agriculture and energy, and most importantly, the people who hold rural America together.

I often look to the Center’s history as a source of inspiration. Earlier this year, as we faced the termination of multiple federal funding sources, I found myself drawn back to the early history of...

The Heartland Regional Food Business Center was established in 2023 as a resource for farmers and entrepreneurs. The program was created as part of a national initiative to strengthen America’s food supply, and in two short years, we helped more than 1,330 farmers and food entrepreneurs take steps toward building stronger local food systems and awarded more than $3.7 million in grants to small businesses.

Communities across the nation have a fresh opportunity to revitalize vacant, underused, or contaminated properties through the recently opened U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields...

High school teachers Dené Oglesby and Paul Callahan jumped into agriculture without any experience, only the desire to branch out into something new that allowed them to care for the environment....

Lo entendemos: como dueño de un pequeño negocio, usted ya está manejando muchísimas responsabilidades. Agregar una cuenta financiera más puede parecer innecesario, pero si alguna vez ha pasado horas clasificando transacciones de Venmo antiguas o cargos misteriosos al preparar sus impuestos, sabe lo caóticas que pueden volverse las cosas cuando sus cuentas personales y las del negocio están mezcladas.

We get it—as a small business owner, you’re already juggling a lot. Adding one more financial account to the mix might seem unnecessary, but if you’ve ever spent hours sorting through old Venmo transactions or mystery debit charges at tax time, you know how chaotic things can get when your business and personal accounts are mixed.

Southwest Iowans came together in Logan, Iowa, in support of local foods and local farms in a one-day summit on Nov. 14. The third annual Southwest Iowa Local Foods Summit was hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs and Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D).

From 1945 to 2025, Fisher Packing has evolved and changed, with one constant at its core—family. The third-generation, family-owned-and-operated business specializes in butchering and meat processing services with several locations in eastern Indiana. Co-owned by brothers Mike, Greg, Dan, and Brad Fisher, the company has been able to adapt to meet its customers' needs over the years.

Renewable energy projects often require a meaningful investment, but the long-term payoff can be transformative. For local businesses like Nebraska’s Harmony Nursery, the Rural Energy for America...

Donnita Jimmis began her agricultural journey in fall 2024 by growing more than 2,000 lavender plants from seed in her home. The next spring, she transplanted those young herbs to a field in Blaine...

This holiday season, will you shop at one of the 33.2 million small businesses that make up 99% of all businesses in the U.S? Up and down rural main streets in rural America, shopkeepers are readying...

The Village of Walthill is taking important steps toward modernizing its water and wastewater systems thanks to support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development’s Special...

On Nov. 12, Congress passed another extension of the farm bill alongside a continuing resolution to end the government shutdown. The continuing resolution will fund the federal government through Jan. 20, 2026, while the farm bill extension will last through Sept. 30, 2026.