Blog Posts & Stories

On Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, nearly 21,000 students in the Midwest states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota celebrated National Farm to School Month by signing up to crunch into locally and regionally grown apples at noon from the comfort of their own schools.

Three years ago, family farmers Robert and Kristine Bernt of Clear Creek Organic Farm weren’t sure what to make of farm to school. They were part of a gathering of food producers, rural organizations and food advocates who joined the Center of Rural Affairs at a fire hall in Ord, Neb. to discuss farm to school efforts happening in the region.

Ask anyone if they’ve noticed weather patterns becoming increasingly erratic over the last 20 years and the answer is usually a resounding “yes!”

About two hours west of Sioux City, Iowa, we dropped by the Santee Sioux Reservation to tag along with LeAnn Red Owl while she visits gardens throughout the community. In the summer of 2016, LeAnn was...

Renewable energy brings big benefits to the American economy. Case in point: the rising solar industry. By 2015, solar was contributing $18 billion dollars a year to our economy and, according to the latest reports, this same industry has created nearly 209,000 jobs.

Fiscal Year 2016 was a record-setting year for Center for Rural Affairs. In 2016, we placed and leveraged over $2.9 million in loans and reached significant numbers of women and Latino entrepreneurs across Nebraska.

Did you know the inner bark of the willow tree is the original source of aspirin? On a recent August afternoon, we learned this fact from Barbara Salvatore, a Verdigre, Neb., resident whose mind is a storehouse of knowledge about medicinal plants.

In early September, we launched the Let’s Talk Tour - a series of conversations across eastern South Dakota that we organized - to hear from rural and small town folks about climate, soil and water conservation, and issues related to the region’s energy future. And we talked, but perhaps more importantly, we listened.

Have you heard? The Women Food & Ag Network’s annual conference is coming to Nebraska for the first time this year in November. You won’t want to miss out on this important opportunity to gather women...

I grew up in the mid-size town of Annapolis, Md. The similarities to rural life were few. I was outside early every morning, but it was to catch the school bus because my high school of 1,100 kids started at 7:17 a.m. We went swimming in the local creek in the summer, but it was in the calm spot between two well-trafficked bridges. So how, after a childhood primarily filled with reading indoors, did I come to love rural places and decide to work at the Center for Rural Affairs?

On Aug. 3, 2015, President Barack Obama and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Gina McCarthy announced the final version of America's Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan (CPP) builds on the Clean Air Act by placing the first ever limits on carbon pollution.

In my work, l meet people who are unable to obtain health insurance on a regular basis. Due to lack of coverage, needed health care services are routinely delayed or denied in ways that significantly impact patient outcomes.

If you live in farm country, the Farm Bill shapes your landscape. Whether through crop insurance, FSA loans, conservation programs, training opportunities, or any of the other dozens of policies included in this giant piece of legislation, chances are you interact with Farm Bill policy on a regular basis.

It was a cool summer morning. I had been given the chore of stacking 13 or so big round bales that were in the small alfalfa field on my parents’ acreage. I was driving an old Allis Chalmers D17 with forks on a Westendorf loader in front, and rear forks as well.

We’re excited to announce five schools have received awards to participate in the School Greenhouse to Cafeteria facilitation program for the 2016-17 school year.

76 rural hospitals have closed since 2010. According to the National Rural Health Association, about one-third of U.S. rural hospitals are at risk of closure due to financial distress.

It’s nearly time for the 2016 Midwest Great Apple Crunch on Oct. 13, during National Farm to School Month. At noon, students in schools across the region will crunch into apples all at the same time...

The proposed merger between German based pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer and U.S. based seed giant Monsanto would create the world's largest supplier of seeds and agricultural chemicals. A merged company would control a quarter of the world's seed and agrichemical market.

In every community, there are people who go above and beyond their civic duty to make their home a better place for everyone. These are the people that are absolutely vital to our work, but more importantly, vital to rural America. In Hastings, that person is Aida Olivas.

For over three decades, the Center for Rural Affairs has worked alongside farm and rural organizations, U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives to reform federal farm subsidies. The impetus for those reform efforts has been the negative impacts unlimited farm subsidies have on beginning farmers, and on small and mid-sized family farms.