CFRA Opinion Editorials
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05/09/2011
Farmers and ranchers under the age 35 are fast becoming endangered species in Nebraska. Statistics from the National Census of Agriculture indicates that in 1982 there were 13,436 operators of Nebraska farms or ranches under the age of 35. In the most recent Census of Agriculture taken in 2007, those Nebraska operators under age 35 have declined to 3,353. The 1982 Census indicated the number of operators age 65 and over was 8,777, while in 2007 the Nebraska operators age 65 and over increased to 13,062. Nebraska currently has only 25 percent as many operators under 35 years of age as it did in 1982. During the same 25 year period, those Nebraska farm and ranch operators 65 and over have increased to 149 percent.
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8/30/2010
Recent attacks on health care reform demonstrate that some of its most vocal critics understand neither its costs nor the value of making health insurance more affordable to Nebraskans.
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07/28/2010
Growing up on a farm in northwest Iowa, I remember my parents searching for affordable health insurance for our family. Often they could only find plans that covered too little and still cost too much, leaving our family to pay high premiums while still paying most medical bills out of pocket.
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08/27/2009
The single most important rural economic development initiative before Congress this year is renewable energy legislation. No other debate in Congress has greater potential to create jobs and directly impact rural revitalization in the Midwest and Great Plains.
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08/30/2009
Those who farm near Grand Forks are lucky, blessed with some of the richest farmland in the world and a great town to support their enterprise.
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06/12/2009
A proposal that would increase wind generation of electricity is the most significant legislation before Congress this year for bringing jobs and revitalization to rural Kansas.
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06/09/2009
Nebraska legislators should make a note to revisit the deep cuts in the state’s investment in rural and small business development. Restoring the disproportional cuts — 66 percent reductions from recent years — should be at the top of the list when the budget improves.
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06/09/2009
Recently, I was fortunate enough to visit Butte for a short time. After discussing the importance of health care reform with the folks at The Montana Standard, I spent some more time talking with some of Butte's residents and small business owners. That time and those conversations made it clear to me that reforming America's dysfunctional health care system is as important to Butte and rural Montana as anywhere in America.
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05/08/2009
U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson's May 3 Midlands Voices essay ("Health care fix is within reach") lays out an effective case for the need to reform America's health care system.
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04/15/2009
Last week I visited Ottumwa for the first time in a few years. I was reminded that it is a proud community with business, industry and considerable history, grand old downtown buildings — none more so than the grand facade of the Courier, a newspaper with over a century and a half of history as well. Like most communities throughout rural America, Ottumwa’s economy and its downtown are in need of continued revitalization.
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04/09/2009
As the recession deepens and more Nebraskans and Nebraska families find themselves struggling, the Legislature and the Governor have a unique opportunity to invest in a proven economic builder and job creator - the Microenterprise Development Act.
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03/16/2009
If rural communities are to have a future, we must rethink traditional economic development in search of new approaches.
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03/30/2009
When we talk about local food, it means more than just proximity to a farm. We associate supporting "local food" with supporting specific values — such as family ownership, local control, small scale, environmental stewardship, community, and ecological diversity. These values are what motivate people to buy their food directly from the farmer who grows it.
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11/24/08Barack Obama launched his campaign in Iowa with a promise to change farm and rural policy to create genuine opportunity for rural people and a better future for their communities.
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10/20/08
Every day we pick up the newspaper and read about the deepening financial crisis. We read about businesses closing because they can not find the credit they need to meet payroll, we read about major businesses and massive layoffs and we read about historic swings in the stock market and their affects on families across the nation.
What we do not read about is that part of the economy which is working, the local economic heroes in all of our communities – the microentrepreneurs and small businesses.
