We’re doing a lot of things right in rural development. We recognize leadership development as a key component, and we recognize the importance of entrepreneurship. The push for an entrepreneurship curriculum in the classroom, training and networking events focused on growing businesses from within, and ongoing training and technical assistance services for budding entrepreneurs are all good rural development steps. But we’re still losing population and, in particular, our young folks.

One very savvy individual recommended that we treat rural community development like a small business – create a “business” plan, look at marketing strategies, etc. Intriguing. If we identified our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (a SWOT analysis), youth would fill every category. Youth is a great strength, but their loss threatens to weaken our communities. Where is the opportunity? It lies in entrepreneurship, but a more aggressive approach to entrepreneurship than we have been taking.

Rural schools do a good job and have some of the most dedicated teachers around. We’re very fortunate in that regard. But let me pose this question – how much more successful could we be if we infused entrepreneurship into every aspect of our school system? Could we reverse the trend in population decline and youth flight? It’s a thought with merit.

Weldon Sleight, Dean at Nebraska’s College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA), http://ncta.unl.edu, has done just that. When he accepted his position at the college, he noticed the same things occurring in his hometown were occurring here – population loss and youth departure. His goal for the students was for them to have an opportunity at ownership.

Dr. Sleight introduced entrepreneurship into every aspect of the college. Each faculty member completes a semester-long course to learn entrepreneurial principles important to teaching the concepts across the entire curriculum. Students learn how to do business plans and more. As a result, the 100 Beef Cow Ownership Advantage Program and Business Builder Program were born and are now assisting young farmers and business people to get established in small rural communities through ownership.

Couldn’t we and shouldn’t we be doing the same in our K-12 school system? I think so, and with urgency. We have some of the brightest, most innovative youth and best teachers. Why not give the students the tools from the beginning to become successful entrepreneurs so they can come home?

Why not infuse entrepreneurship into every aspect of our school systems and give our teachers the tools to be successful? Not every kid who graduates will want to start a farm, ranch or small business, but some will … and we just need some.

Contact: Kathie Starkweather, kathies@cfra.org or 402.438.8496 with your comments or for more information.