We spent the last year in the newsletter reflecting on 35 years of work at the Center for Rural Affairs. Since the Center began in 1974, rural America has changed significantly. The number of farms, the farm population, and the overall rural population have all declined. 

Agriculture has become more consolidated, and, in livestock production in particular, corporate control limits the opportunities for family producers. Big box stores in nearby urban areas brought stiff competition to rural Main Street, and we lost many grocery stores, hardware stores, and other small businesses that populated our towns 35 years ago.

These losses were not the result of inevitable decline, and they did not occur without warning. Commissions convened by the USDA, grassroots activists across the country, and reports from the Center for Rural Affairs all raised cautions along the way. In some cases, the warnings were more prescient than even we imagined they would be.

If both we as rural people and the policymakers that represent us had taken heed of these warnings and adjusted our policies, strategies, and directions in response, rural America would be better off today. While that is a hard fact to reconcile, it does not mean we have done our job poorly.

Rural advocacy has changed state and federal policies, helped awaken new interest in small farms, and provided communities with the skills and information to take control of their own destiny. Our work has also created opportunity for small and midsized family farms in high value markets and helped launch many successful small businesses. We have proven that decline is not inevitable, and that together we can create opportunity in our communities. Undoubtedly, rural America is made stronger by our collective achievements.

Together, we have ensured that rural America will live to fight another day, and one thing is certain about that fight – the next 35 years will be decisive.

As we look forward to creating a vibrant future for our communities, we must be willing to chart a new course for our advocacy. Let’s build on what is working, shed what is not, and keep evaluating our strategies. When things are not working or victories are too small, we must be vociferous about changing course and developing new approaches.

Approaching a small town in western Nebraska last summer, the welcome sign caught my eye – Cody, Nebraska: A Town Too Tough to Die. The residents of Cody have the right idea. The perseverance, determination, and creativity of rural people will carry us forward. It is up to us to take destiny into our own hands and declare that we are not content to settle for the status quo.

In the coming months we will begin an in-depth look at the opportunities, challenges and battles that will define the next 35 years in rural America. They include:

Building an economy that works: We need rural economic development that supports widespread ownership and creates genuine opportunity for rural people.

Our efforts must involve new agricultural and natural resource-based ventures while also harnessing the power of new technology to bring “knowledge economy” jobs to our communities. Regionalizing our food system and finding ways for farmers and ranchers far away from urban markets to tap into the renewed food economy is one key. Creating new ways to turn our natural resources into economic drivers while also sustaining our environment for future generations is another. At the same time, we must work hard to develop new opportunities around broadband-based businesses.

An economy built on a diverse set of ventures can help ensure opportunity for rural people.

Building communities that work: Community is a bedrock of rural America, but just as we must revitalize our economy with new ideas, our rural communities must embrace fresh perspectives as well.

Communities that are successful in the coming decades will not be defined by whether they are rural or urban, but instead by what they offer their residents. Communities with strong schools, opportunities for recreation, access to broadband internet, and initiatives to bring cultural attractions will succeed. Rural communities are well positioned to build on current strengths and become the most attractive communities to live and work in during the coming decades.

Rural communities also must embrace people of diverse backgrounds. One example is new immigrants who are already bringing renewed promise to some rural communities. We must welcome these and other people into our communities.

Fighting for policy that works: It is long past time to establish a national rural policy to revitalize rural communities through new initiatives and reforms to existing policy. Public policies that support small business and entrepreneurship while helping to build our communities, sustain our environment, and support the health of rural people have great potential to enhance rural community viability.

No single policy solution and no single new program will revive all of rural America. Every community has different strengths and different needs. Communities need tools and resources they can employ in innovative ways at the local level and policies that support them. In the coming years we must find new ways to fight with a collective voice for both state and federal policies that help create vibrant rural communities.

The Center for Rural Affairs intends to be at the front line of the battles that will define the future of rural America between now and our 70th anniversary in 2044. We hope you will join us as we seek to create an economy, communities and policies that work for rural America.

For more information, contact Brian Depew, 402.687.2103 x1015, briand@cfra.org. Look for more articles exploring each of these areas in future newsletters.