The Nebraska Energy Fair is coming to Lyons, Nebraska, on July 23 and 24. We have a lot planned and believe the fair will appeal to everyone, so please plan to join us.

Passing the new health reform law was just the beginning of knocking down barriers to affordable and quality care for many rural people. While the federal law provides necessary tools for implementing crucial changes, much of the real work will happen at the state level. In many ways, the work has just begun.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) said at a recent Congressional field hearing in Texas that he wants to eliminate the farm payment limitation. We would counsel Chairman Peterson and other opponents of tighter limits to look before they leap on abolishing payment limitations.

It’s the summer before an election, and your representatives from Washington are back in the district looking for something: your vote in November. They are holding town halls, meeting with constituents and talking to local media. And they are listening to what you have to say.

Grab your camera and hit the street. We want you to find your local mayor, your U.S. senator or any elected official. Once you find them, ask them about the future of rural America and local, state or federal policy.

USDA has released a new rule defining what constitutes an “unreasonable preference,” which is clearly prohibited by the Packers and Stockyards Act. Meatpackers have given huge volume-based premiums to the largest hog and cattle producers for decades, helping them drive smaller, family farm and ranch livestock producers out of business.

Arizona: Students in the Vail School District, which covers 500 square miles in rural southern Arizona, face a long commute to school, with some students riding the bus for over two and a half hours each day. In response, the Vail School District installed Wi-Fi routers on some busses that jump from cell tower to cell tower during the ride. The students are able to connect to the internet the entire way, except when they travel through a high mountain pass on the route.

One of the most important components of successful community development is building and strengthening relationships among community members. It builds trust – and strong, trust-based relationships go a long way toward moving a community forward.

What would you do with $45 million? If you’re the Department of Agriculture, you invest in rural communities by rolling out the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program!

It’s been quite a year for the owners of Sandhills Glass & Garage Doors, Brad and Gina Babb from Ord, Nebraska. It started when they received the Center for Rural Affairs’ Entrepreneur Award last February.

Melissa Graham, owner of Missa Sue’s Curly Q’s in Laurel, Nebraska, would tell you the key to her success is, “I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Laurel! They’ve been so supportive in my business, and I would not be here without them. I love giving back to the community with special events. Just because we aren’t as big as Omaha doesn’t mean we can’t provide community events that you might think only happen in big cities!”

Last month, USDA released the final rules and regulations for the Conservation Stewardship Program. The rule will guide the program roll out from this point forward. There are some clear victories and some disappointments too.

Mob grazing, or very high stock density, short-duration grazing, is one of the headline topics at this year’s Nebraska Grazing conference, with several farmers to share their experiences. This 10th annual conference will again be held at the Kearney Holiday Inn on August 10-11.

As we look at the warm days of summer I am always impressed by how things grow. Being a lifelong farmer I have had the opportunity to see growth season after season. Some are too hot or too wet, but life does increase and it is always a marvel to behold.

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