Niobrara Nebraska from nearby hill

Blog Posts & Stories

What's happening with the Center for Rural Affairs? Find the latest on rural America and our work here.

Their farmhouse door was one of many that Horizon Energy Services staff members knocked on when they went door-to-door asking if anyone would be interested in a wind farm in McLean County, Illinois.
  • Policy
I had thought nothing of it when our conversation grew louder to compensate for the sound of my dad’s lawnmower starting. Occasionally Dad, when he wants to do something, will randomly get up and mow the area in which the activity is to take place.
  • Small Towns
'Tis the season for ears of corn coming out of our ears! One of the many benefits of living in rural America - particularly in the corn belt - is the abundance of sweet corn during the late summer.
  • Farm and Food
​​​​​​​In Mower County, Minn., money received from local wind farms will be devoted to roads. The county board recently voted on the decision, responding to calls from local residents for more money in the roads fund.
  • Policy
There is nothing better than slicing up a big, juicy, garden tomato fresh off the vine. However, some may not have the means to grow fresh vegetables in their backyards. At the Center for Rural...
  • Small Towns
This summer the Center for Rural Affairs staff has been traveling Nebraska to visit with state legislative candidates. June marked the kickoff of visits.
  • Farm and Food
Electricity is essential for our communities, businesses and households. Nebraska is the only public power state, giving Nebraskans the ability to elect board members that represent our interests and needs, and be leaders for Nebraska’s energy future.
  • Policy
This August, we salute our four-legged canine friends and Rural America as we celebrate Dog Days of Summer. We need your help. Our goal is to raise $10,000 by Aug. 31. The funds will be distributed...
  • Small Towns
After providing a lesson in the kindergarten classroom, we cut the lettuce to put in the school lunch program. Two students started jumping up and down saying “Yes! We get a salad for snack today!”
  • Small Towns
“We are unapologetically rural,” said Brian Depew – Executive Director who is leading the center on a host of rural issues. One of their ongoing battles impacts nearly every, single farmer across the nation – Federal Crop Insurance Reform.
  • Farm and Food
A farmer and longtime friend of the Center for Rural Affairs is retiring from his farm and ranch operation in the dryland area of Montezuma County, Colorado. The seller is interested in transitioning...
  • Farm and Food
Antes invadido por hierbas altas y pinos, una área rodeado de milpas de maíz en las afueras de Fremont, ahora es un oasis de alimento.
  • Farm and Food
  • Small Towns
Once full of tall grasses and pine trees, an acreage surrounded by corn on the outskirts of Fremont, Neb., now offers a food oasis.
  • Farm and Food
  • Small Towns
Midwestern states continue investing in a bright future by pursuing new renewable energy development. Especially in rural areas, capturing abundant natural resources like wind produces clean power and economic benefits to local areas.
  • Policy
Home. What do you think of when you hear the word? Is it the old, creaky house you grew up in? The wheat fields of North Dakota or cornfields of Iowa? The laughter of your family while gathering for...
  • Small Towns
For three weekends this summer, the Center for Rural Affairs will traverse Nebraska for the sake of local music and rural communities. The Good Living Tour is returning for its second year, and the...
  • Small Towns
Getting a local food system into place doesn’t come overnight. It’s a one step at a time process. And that’s exactly what the “One Step” Garden at the Clarinda Regional Health Center in Clarinda, Iowa, is doing.
  • Small Towns
On Tuesday, June 14, North Dakotans went to the polls in a primary election to decide, among other things, the fate of North Dakota’s long-standing anti-corporate farming law. Since 1932, North Dakota law has prohibited corporations from engaging in farming and ranching or owning farm or ranch land.
  • Farm and Food
Wind energy has many quantifiable benefits for rural America. It’s a renewable energy source that produces no greenhouse gases, consumes no water and uses very little land. And wind power pays $222 million a year to rural landowners and saves 226 gallons of water a year in the U.S.
  • Small Towns
What if I told you your utility could help reduce your electric bill while increasing the comfort of your home? More and more utilities are finding ways to do just this, often using (stay with me here) “tariffed on-bill financing.”
  • Policy