Home

Center Weekly Column

To be added to the Center for Rural Affairs media distribution list and receive our occasional press releases by email please contact Elisha Smith at elishas [at] cfra [dot] org. News releases are also available by RSS feed.

  • 02/01/2010
    Program Brings More Doctors to Rural Nebraska
    I love calling Craig, Nebraska (population 220) home. I don't mind going without the conveniences of big city life, but some services are central to survival in rural Nebraska - like medical care.
  • 02/02/2010
    The Case for Competition
    Livestock markets don't work. I should say they don't work for family farmers and ranchers - meatpackers don't have any complaints.
  • 01/26/2010
    Laws and Sausages
    It's an old joke - laws and sausages are two things no one should ever see made.
  • 01/12/2010
    Obama Retains Subsidy Loophole for Mega-Farms
    On January 6, USDA announced their decision to retain a massive loophole in farm payment limit rules that will continue to allow annual taxpayer-funded checks of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars to inure to single farming operations - subsidy checks the nation's largest farms use to drive their smaller neighbors out of business.
  • 01/05/2010
    A New Year's Resolution for Entrepreneurs
    I'm certain most everyone has already written down their New Year's resolutions.
  • 12/29/2009
    USDA Listening for Rural Development Ideas
    USDA Rural Development will host a video conference from 10:00 a.m. to noon (CST) on January 8th at eight sites across Nebraska.
  • 12/22/2009
    A Time to Act
    In the early hours of Monday, December 21st, the U.S. Senate voted, 60 to 40, to invoke cloture and bring the Senate health care reform debate to a close.
  • 12/15/2009
    Grocery Stores Crucial to Rural Communities
    A small grocery store anchors one end of Main Street in the town the Center for Rural Affairs calls home.
  • 12/08/2009
    Health Care Reform and Rural America
    Skyrocketing health care costs are undermining the foundations of the rural economy - self-employment and small business.
  • 12/01/2009
    Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Rural Nebraska
    Students at Cody-Kilgore High School, Cody, Nebraska (population 149), wanted to start a community-owned grocery store.
  • 11/23/2009
    Rural Development: A Team Sport
    Nebraskans love their football. Go Huskers! And it's not just college ball - hometown high school teams receive outstanding support, as well.
  • 11/16/2009
    Farmer Urges Congress to Reform Health Care
    I am a lifelong resident and livestock farmer from Belgrade, Nebraska. Over the past 50 years, I have watched the population of Nance County decline.
  • 11/09/2009
    Support for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
    The first round of grant recipients for the new USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program includes organizations doing truly inspiring work with beginning farmers and ranchers.
  • 11/02/2009
    Rural Americans Support Health Care Reform
    The media often suggests that rural people do not support congressional action to fix America's health care system. With critical votes approaching in Washington, that claim should be examined.
  • 10/26/2009
    Fill Up Your Goodie Bag With A Few Tricks And A Whole Lot Of Treats At MarketPlace
    Are you afraid of starting your own business or expanding a current business because you don't know where to turn to find resources and connections? Maybe you want to try a new venture in your ranching/farming operation, but the task seems too haunting.