April 2007 Newsletter
| The Center for Rural Affairs' April newsletter appears below. Click on each story for the full text. You can also download a PDF our April newsletter to print or read offline. |
Development Matters
Last April 15th we announced a goal to raise $15,000 by May 15th. We called it our “15x15” campaign. When Brian, Jeff, and I broached the idea nobody believed we could do it (most days, neither did we). But we forgot one very important thing. It was not up to us, it was up to you.
Question Your Candidates
The next six months may be your best chance to get your future senator or representative to make a commitment to vote right.
It’s an election year. Aspiring elected official are never more responsive to constituents than in their first campaign. Their views are generally not yet hardened, and they are listening intently – looking for ways to demonstrate to voters that they will fight for people like them.
It’s an election year. Aspiring elected official are never more responsive to constituents than in their first campaign. Their views are generally not yet hardened, and they are listening intently – looking for ways to demonstrate to voters that they will fight for people like them.
Cultural Smorgasbord in a Rural School
A few months ago I wrote about a unique situation in Wausa, Nebraska. The school system was in danger of being phased out due to a lack of students. Superintendent Bob Marks came up with a plan to recruit foreign exchange students to fill the population needs of the school.
President’s FY09 Budget Proposal Examined
The latest issue of the Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Brief is available on the Center’s website, http://www.cfra.org/node/1172. This issue analyzes the President’s FY 09 budget proposal and how it affects selected rural development programs.
Commencement Kudos to 2008 Graduates
In an annual newsletter tradition we recognize members of the Center for Rural Affairs family experiencing the thrill of graduation this spring.
Michael Bailey, son of Jon and Ginger Bailey, will graduate from Bancroft-Rosalie High School on May 9, 2008.
Michael Bailey, son of Jon and Ginger Bailey, will graduate from Bancroft-Rosalie High School on May 9, 2008.
Farm-Based Recreation and Development
One rural development strategy offered to enhance farm and ranch income and entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas is farm-based recreation or agritourism. Latest data (2004) estimates that over 50,000 farms and ranches in the United States obtain some income from farm-based recreation activities.
A new report has significant implications for policy options to promote agritourism and important suggestions for organizations (like the Center for Rural Affairs) and agencies seeking to assist farmers, ranchers, and rural communities in developing initiatives based on agritourism.
A new report has significant implications for policy options to promote agritourism and important suggestions for organizations (like the Center for Rural Affairs) and agencies seeking to assist farmers, ranchers, and rural communities in developing initiatives based on agritourism.
Initiative 300 Replacement Bill Killed
The Nebraska Legislature has killed the bill to reestablish restrictions on corporate farming. LB 1174 fell four votes short in spite of spirited support from Senator Cap Dierks, Nebraska Farmers Union, the Center for Rural Affairs, churches, and others.
We did establish a fact critical to all states considering corporate farm legislation. It is possible to develop effective corporate farm restrictions that meet the objections of the federal courts that overturned the Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota laws.
We did establish a fact critical to all states considering corporate farm legislation. It is possible to develop effective corporate farm restrictions that meet the objections of the federal courts that overturned the Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota laws.
Survey Finds Cropland Values Soar
Nebraska cropland values increased by 23 percent over the past year according to the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey done by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This is the highest increase survey authors have seen over the past 30 years.
Opportunity to Secure Rental Farmland
A new company is searching for sustainable and organic farmers who want to secure rental farmland for their operations. The company will set up long-term leases for farmers who agree to use environmentally sound farming practices on the property.
Corporate Farming Battle Examined
For 35 years the Center for Rural Affairs has stood at the forefront of the battle to protect family farming from large corporate interests.
Beginning in the mid 1970s we tried for eight years to get a corporate farming restriction passed in the Nebraska Legislature, to no avail. We had nearly stopped trying when Nebraska Farmers Union launched a petition drive in 1981 to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Initiative 300 was born, and the fight was on.
Beginning in the mid 1970s we tried for eight years to get a corporate farming restriction passed in the Nebraska Legislature, to no avail. We had nearly stopped trying when Nebraska Farmers Union launched a petition drive in 1981 to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Initiative 300 was born, and the fight was on.
NCR-SARE Research and Education Grants
The 2009 Research and Education Call for Preproposals is now available on the NCR-SARE (North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) website, http://www.sare.org/ncrsare/resedu.htm. The deadline for preproposals is 4:30 pm CDT on Monday, June 10, 2008.
More Center for Rural Affairs Donors
In March we published a list of our donors from FY 2007. Since then it occurred to us that most people do not live their lives on fiscal years. We want everyone to know that we value all of our contributors, no matter when they give. Toward that end, we are publishing the names of recent donors who did not appear in the March list. Select "read more" to see the names.
AEO Hosts Rural Summit
The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) is hosting its first Rural Summit in Anaheim, California on May 20. The Summit will focus on building connections between those working in microenterprise development, rural economic and community development, buy local efforts, Main Street revitalization, cultural and heritage initiatives, sustainable tourism, green and agricultural businesses, and others working to transform economic opportunity in Rural America.
If Rural Really Mattered
In January 1974, Don Ralston, Center for Rural Affairs Co-Director, wrote an essay for the Center’s newsletter entitled Fewer Shadows on the Land in which he asked, “What value should be placed on the shadow the farmer casts on his land?”
Don concludes that, “Land stewardship is best achieved by the man who owns, operates, and lives on his own land. The shadow this man casts is perhaps the most valuable of all agricultural inputs.” There have been numerous examples of such prophetic vision throughout the Center’s 35 years.
Don concludes that, “Land stewardship is best achieved by the man who owns, operates, and lives on his own land. The shadow this man casts is perhaps the most valuable of all agricultural inputs.” There have been numerous examples of such prophetic vision throughout the Center’s 35 years.
Self-Employment a Major Rural Economic Driver
According to new national research, self-employment in rural areas has exploded in recent decades and is poised to become a major economic driver in all rural communities. Yet public policy has lagged behind the challenges that accompany this new reality.
