Angel Romero-Keister opened Cravings Café in Lyons, Nebraska. Her husband and their son have health insurance, Angel does not. Additional premiums prevented them from purchasing coverage for her. (Photo by Casey Francis)

After August’s rancorous health care debate, it seems time to return to the question, “What would it look like if rural really mattered?”

Making health care coverage affordable for the rural self-employed should be a driving force in the reform debate. Over half the jobs in rural America are tied to small businesses or self-employment – on family farms, ranches and Main Street businesses. As a result, rural people who own or work for those businesses are twice as likely to be underinsured as urban Americans.

Angel Romero-Keister opened Cravings Café in Lyons, Nebraska, last year. Her husband and their son have health insurance, Angel does not. They could not afford the additional premiums to include her. A so-called “pre-existing condition” made purchasing coverage for Angel on the individual market virtually impossible. She has become a vocal advocate for reform. She has helped organize local and statewide events in Nebraska and has traveled with other small business owners to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress for strong health care reform legislation.

The status quo is not sustainable. We cannot afford more years of 20 percent premium increases or continue to subject Americans to the risk of losing health insurance. Well crafted reform can provide the following benefits.

A small grocery store anchors one end of Main Street in the town the Center for Rural Affairs calls home. If you live in a rural community, you understand that our grocery store is arguably one of the most important businesses in town.

The most important issue awaiting action by this Congress for rural development in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota is renewable energy legislation. 

When the Center for Rural Affairs takes on a tough issue, we set our position based on honest evaluation guided by our values. And then we fight hard. Sometimes that angers friends who hold strong partisan allegiances.

Pennsylvania: Students in Elk County Pennsylvania, about 120 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, were served a meal of entirely locally grown food on September 16, 2009. Ridgeway Area School District Superintendent Tom Butler used the locally grown meal to teach the community about the importance of nutrition and supporting local farmers. The meal included locally grown blueberries, sweet corn, mixed vegetables and beef.

In August, Tyson Foods ended a dispute with the federal government over violations of a 2002 consent decree and federal pollution discharge permit by agreeing to pay a $2,026,500 fine. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recent­ly announced the availability of $18 million for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2009.

The Center for Rural Affairs’ new Community Development Resource Guide is now available. It was created to help communities achieve their goals. After all, rural community development begins with the people living in the community.

Working from an Organic Farming Research Foundation grant, the Center for Rural Af­fairs created a unique training opportunity for USDA Natural Resources Conservation staff on organics.

Marvin and Candy Blecha purchased the hardware store in Humboldt, Nebraska, in fall of 2006. Prior to their purchase, store hours were sporadic and supplies and inventory were limited. Marvin, a machinery mechanic, saw a way to keep Humboldt’s downtown square alive with business and to help his hometown economy grow. He and his wife Candy understand the importance of supporting their community and growing the business economy in Southeast Nebraska.

As we come to the end of the crop growing season things are busy. There is a real variation of crop conditions across the country, from very dry to very lush. As a farm person who loves the seasons, it is great to watch production come to harvest. I have always marveled at the bounty of the land.