September – a time for starting school, apples, the return of fall and calls to Congress. Wait, calls to Congress? Yes! In September Congress gets back to work on important legislation. This year, health care reform will likely be the first issue they tackle.

Rural America faces a critical shortage of primary care providers, jeopardizing the nation’s ability to meet the health care needs of the rural population. Primary care providers offer routine care, health promotion and disease prevention, and treat chronic conditions – all fundamental needs of the rural population.

The primary care workforce is composed of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives. Registered nurses also play an important role. Shortages exist in all areas of this workforce; none of the providers can adequately care for the rural population alone.

The news is out that rural people eat less nutritious food, get less physical activity, and are more often obese than their urban counterparts. However, what gets less attention is the power of the environment to mold individual behavior. Since research shows that the community environment plays a key role in determining the health of its residents, reversing the health-related trends in rural areas requires locally implemented initiatives focused at the community level – through our grocery stores, local governments, schools, churches and libraries.

The climate change debate is about whether we will take steps now – before it is too late – to prevent major, rapid climate changes that introduce great risk and uncertainty into our lives and livelihoods.

Navy Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn testified in July that “climate change poses a serious threat to America’s national security, acting as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the world’s most volatile regions, adding tension to stable regions, worsening terrorism and likely dragging the United States into conflicts over water and other critical resource shortages.” He quoted former commander of the U.S. Central Command, retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, who said, “We will pay now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today … or we will pay the price later in military terms and that will involve human lives.”

Scott Collin’s great-grandfather homesteaded in Washington’s Franklin County over 100 years ago. Collin fears, however, that his generation will be the last to farm his 1,500 acre dryland wheat farm.

Farmland ownership is increasingly shifting out of rural hands, costing small communities their natural resource wealth. Exporting that wealth leaves less to support the local economy, churches and development efforts.

The share of Iowa farmland owned by non-Iowans has tripled since 1982 to more than one-in-five acres today, according to Iowa State University economist Mike Duffy. Several factors fuel the trend, including growing interest by investment funds and declining numbers of beginning farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture began accepting farmer sign-ups for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) on Aug. 10. The sign-up is now continuous, so farmers and ranchers can begin the paperwork anytime. However, USDA announced a Sept. 30 deadline for those who want to be considered for ranking in this fiscal year. Applications can be filed at a local or county Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office.

Mike Heavrin has retired from the Center for Rural Affairs. For 10 years Mike was the voice of encouragement to countless beginning farmers and ranchers who called and wrote looking for a match through our Land Link program or for other ways to get started. Mike also advised hundreds of producers who called to ask how to start cooperatives and other new ventures to deal with inadequate commodity prices.

Maine: Networking opportunities among like-minded young professionals were identified as a benefit of the Young Professionals Institute, a leadership development course in Maine offered at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. An eight-week program to enhance communication skills and civic involvement of participants, it also highlights the benefits of living and working in rural northern Maine. The program is the result of collaboration between the university, local employers, and Momentum Aroostook, which addresses youth outmigration through active participation of its 20 to 40-year-old demographic base.

People start businesses for lots of reasons, but too often in a weak economy they feel forced to start a small business because they see no other opportunities. Sometimes this works out, but more often it doesn’t, and financial problems are only compounded for the people involved. In these uncertain economic times, it is absolutely critical that people looking to start a business for whatever reason ask themselves the critical question, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”

The Center for Rural Affairs is collaborating with the Kansas Department of Commerce to offer the first annual Kansas Marketplace: Opening Doors to Success, to be held Nov. 9-10, 2009, at the Ramada Convention Center in Hays, Kansas.

The event will offer high-quality educational sessions and exhibitor booths with abundant networking opportunities. The dynamic combination of expert presenters and essential service providers will engage individuals in entrepreneurial activities during the day and a half event.
 

Lewellen, Nebraska, a remote community of 250 people in the Nebraska Sandhills, faces the same challenges as other rural communities. But there’s something different about this town and all of Garden County, Nebraska. Rather than sitting idly by while their future is determined for them, they are actively shaping it through leadership, inclusion, relationship building and entrepreneurism.

We’re the first to admit small town living isn’t for everybody, and if your heart is drawn to the hustle and bustle and bright lights of urban centers, we probably don’t have too much to offer you.