What's happening with the Center for Rural Affairs? Find the latest on rural America and our work here.
12.19.2018
As another growing season comes to a close, residents of the small Native community of Santee are prepared to continue utilizing the knowledge they’ve gained over the summer. Through assistance from...
- Small Towns
12.18.2018
Bev and Dwight Rutter describe their prairie farm as a hobby gone nuts. Surrounded by 600 acres of restored and native prairie grass (and hundreds of pheasants), rests Bev and Dwight’s native seed and plant nursery, The Prairie Flower, near Spencer, Iowa.
- Policy
12.17.2018
Congress’s compromise farm bill secures several victories for conservation, beginning farmers, and rural communities, while failing to cap payments to the largest farms or secure long-term funding for...
- Farm and Food
12.14.2018
An important deadline is coming up quickly for certain contract holders with the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Farmers and ranchers who started their first CSP contract in 2014 are eligible...
- Farm and Food
12.13.2018
People who use and value farming-conservation practices are applauding parts of the U.S. Senate's newly passed Farm Bill. They think the legislation will benefit beginning farmers and help sustain the vitality of rural communities.
- Farm and Food
12.11.2018
With the 2019 legislative session just around the corner, champions of Nebraska's Beginning Farmer Tax Credit are hoping to leverage the program's success to open more land to military veterans.
- Farm and Food
12.07.2018
How do we increase healthy, fresh foods in rural America? One way is to identify new opportunities for people to access food. Here are five suggestions for your community. 1. Mobile grocery stores or...
- Small Towns
12.05.2018
For more than two decades, Ruth Chantry has been gaining farming experience, and she’s not planning to stop any time soon.
- Farm and Food
12.03.2018
Rural America holds a special place in Anthony Gurrola’s heart – his story began there and continues there today. Anthony says his upbringing is the perfect example of a rural environment being...
- Small Towns
12.03.2018
An immigration raid in very rural north central Nebraska put a spotlight on the immigration debate in rural America. The raid targeted alleged labor practice exploitation by a local employment agency...
- Small Towns
11.29.2018
This summer, huge green peppers were picked out of Joette Novak’s garden – the most she’s ever seen. She attributes this success to the bees placed on her land. Joette, a landowner near Brainard...
- Farm and Food
- Small Towns
11.27.2018
Bringing small towns to life, or giving them a new shot at life, is how Kathie Starkweather spends her days, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Director of the Farm and Community program at the...
- Small Towns
11.26.2018
The way we use and generate electricity continues to change at a rapid pace. Just as we have more devices that rely on ready access to energy, we’ve also shifted to cleaner and renewable resources to deliver that energy.
- Small Towns
11.21.2018
Congress has only a few days left in 2018 to pass legislation. Adopting a strong, new farm bill should be at the top of their list. Lawmakers should approve a farm bill that includes closing loopholes...
- Farm and Food
11.21.2018
With each passing year, the Center for Rural Affairs assists more and more entrepreneurs in making their dreams a reality. And, as the number of small business owners grows, so does their need for...
- Small Towns
11.20.2018
Mid-October in Iowa – temperatures have dropped, leaves are changing, and harvest should be in full swing. Yet, there I sat with Jerry Peckumn in his office when he should have been out in the combine. Thirteen days straight of heavy rains in central Iowa seriously stalled the harvest of the state’s corn and soybeans crops.
- Policy
11.19.2018
This holiday season, will you be among 83 percent of consumers who plan to do some portion of their holiday shopping at a small, independently owned retailer or restaurant? These types of businesses...
- Lending
- Small Towns
11.15.2018
Healthy rural residents help maintain and create vibrant rural communities. To achieve both, citizens, communities, and policy makers must recognize and address the unique health needs of the nation’s rural residents.
- Policy
11.14.2018
This summer, a member of the Omaha Nation implemented a new gardening practice that could substantially improve the amount of vegetables grown each season on the Omaha Reservation. Suzi French, along...
- Small Towns
11.13.2018
Seeing farmers achieve their goals is Lucia Schulz’s passion. Being the reason why they’re able to achieve those goals is her job. As a project assistant for the Center for Rural Affairs, Lucia spends...
- Small Towns
