Blog Posts & Stories

The Women’s Business Center Entrepreneur of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual or individuals who have utilized the Center for Rural Affairs Women’s Business Center services and are successfully operating and growing their business. The award exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit so crucial to women-owned businesses and the rural Nebraska communities they call home.

On Aug. 8 in O'Neill, Nebraska, that sense of community was shaken when 133 agricultural workers were taken from their places of employment and transferred to a detention center more than 100 miles away in Grand Island, leaving their families and children to wonder if their loved ones would ever return.

August is National Water Quality Month and, as we celebrate, lawmakers are negotiating the 2018 farm bill. Members of the farm bill conference committee have the ambitious charge of reconciling the stark differences between the House and Senate proposals.

Small rural businesses are the lifeblood for many rural communities. Such locally-owned businesses generate greater economic returns for their communities than their larger counterparts. They also employ more people per unit of sales, an incredibly valuable service in rural areas where jobs are often scarce.

For more than 30 years, legislation has been in the farm bill to sensibly limit farm program payments. Congress set a payment limit of $125,000 per “person or legal entity” to help rein in farm program expenditures. The payments most individual farmers receive do not even come close to that limit, but the largest operations far exceed it.

What started as a passion for writing, and a desire to help others in her community, has led Norma Cell Marquez, of Grand Island, Nebraska, to become a successful, award-winning business owner.

To Don Swanson, there is no other way to farm but sustainably. This mindset started with his grandfather and was passed down to his father, then to him and his brother, Bill. It has kept the family heritage farm alive for well over a century in Ottumwa, Iowa.

For generations, Iowa's topsoil has been called "black gold." And, many farmers are working to keep it that way by renewing their focus on soil health.

“Good things don't come to you easily; if you want to achieve your goals in life, you better fight for them, and be prepared to compromise things you love.” Vanesa Salgado-Perez says her parents’...

Seven years ago, when Sara Bennett began working for Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC), she had no idea that her passion for serving rural entrepreneurs would lead to winning an award.

This July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to extend two landmark initiatives that have advanced water quality in Iowa. The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative and the National Water Quality Initiative provide targeted funding and technical resources to farmers and landowners looking to improve their land.

Leaders from across Nebraska are ready to launch a comprehensive statewide food assessment, one goal of the Nebraska Food Council's new board of directors in gearing up for the big fall harvest.

The Center for Rural Affairs makes its home office in Lyons, Nebraska. We built a new office in this northeast Nebraska community of 851 people in 2004. Since our founding in 1973, putting down roots in a small town in the middle of the country has always been a radical demonstration of our commitment to rural America. Then – and now – rural places face profound challenges. Being part of rural America, and confronting these challenges in our daily life, is truly part of the makeup of the Center.

By Cora Fox, former staff member We need your help. However, before I ask, I’d like you to think about a few questions. Do you live or work in a small town? Or, did you grow up in a rural area? Do you...

Veteran. Farmer. Business owner. Father. These are just a few of the titles Brent Hoops holds. He’s also a conservationist who utilizes environmental preservation and protection practices on Good...

Even though farming has become increasingly expensive, from land value to input costs, some farm groups have demanded an increase in Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan limits. Recent farm bill proposals from Congress responded to those demands.

Husband and wife business partners, Diego Leon and Jenny Lopez, rely on their memories of Colombian fruit and juice stands to recreate the vibrant and unique dishes of their homeland. These thoughts inspire their restaurant, FRUIT, in Grand Island, Nebraska. The couple immigrated to the U.S. in 2014, and opened their business in January 2016. Diego says starting their venture was an intensive process, but a labor of love.

Renewable energy continues to expand across the United States. For example, wind energy has achieved some notable landmarks, like the recent feat of supplying more than 30 percent of the energy for four states – Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

​​​​​​​Large, hand-painted signs lean against a tent, the buzz of friendly conversation cuts through the humid air, and the smell of fresh produce drifts in the breeze – you’ve found yourself at a farmers market.

Mary Harding has strong feelings about public power and rural advocacy. Her passion for these issues has become the focus of her work, as she has been a member of the Nebraska Public Power District...