Blog Posts & Stories

No party has a monopoly on good ideas. However, the dominant party in any partisan legislative body tends to seek to impose a monopoly on the ideas that can even be considered. Partisanship encourages legislators and citizens alike to partake in both lazy thinking and lazy voting.

Has the political center become the most radical place to work? In this time of piqued partisan rhetoric, it may be. Working at the radical center does not mean that each of us should become a...

Located near the headwaters of the Elkhorn River, the Stewart Hereford Ranch sits on 13,000 acres in the Sandhills outside of Newport, Neb. The ranch is owned by Roy and June Stewart and their son and daughter-in-law, Jay and Kaye Stewart, who also manage the operation.

Kristy and Greg Parr recently moved Custom Sports to Norfolk with the help of a Center loan. The business offers custom embroidery and screen printing, and has nine employees including family members.

Center for Rural Affairs is seeking participants in Conservation Reserve Program - Transition Incentives Program (CRP-TIP). Are you a landowner in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota or South Dakota who has...

On Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, nearly 21,000 students in the Midwest states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota celebrated National Farm to School Month by signing up to crunch into locally and regionally grown apples at noon from the comfort of their own schools.

Three years ago, family farmers Robert and Kristine Bernt of Clear Creek Organic Farm weren’t sure what to make of farm to school. They were part of a gathering of food producers, rural organizations and food advocates who joined the Center of Rural Affairs at a fire hall in Ord, Neb. to discuss farm to school efforts happening in the region.

Ask anyone if they’ve noticed weather patterns becoming increasingly erratic over the last 20 years and the answer is usually a resounding “yes!”

About two hours west of Sioux City, Iowa, we dropped by the Santee Sioux Reservation to tag along with LeAnn Red Owl while she visits gardens throughout the community. In the summer of 2016, LeAnn was...

Renewable energy brings big benefits to the American economy. Case in point: the rising solar industry. By 2015, solar was contributing $18 billion dollars a year to our economy and, according to the latest reports, this same industry has created nearly 209,000 jobs.

Fiscal Year 2016 was a record-setting year for Center for Rural Affairs. In 2016, we placed and leveraged over $2.9 million in loans and reached significant numbers of women and Latino entrepreneurs across Nebraska.

Did you know the inner bark of the willow tree is the original source of aspirin? On a recent August afternoon, we learned this fact from Barbara Salvatore, a Verdigre, Neb., resident whose mind is a storehouse of knowledge about medicinal plants.

In early September, we launched the Let’s Talk Tour - a series of conversations across eastern South Dakota that we organized - to hear from rural and small town folks about climate, soil and water conservation, and issues related to the region’s energy future. And we talked, but perhaps more importantly, we listened.

Have you heard? The Women Food & Ag Network’s annual conference is coming to Nebraska for the first time this year in November. You won’t want to miss out on this important opportunity to gather women...

I grew up in the mid-size town of Annapolis, Md. The similarities to rural life were few. I was outside early every morning, but it was to catch the school bus because my high school of 1,100 kids started at 7:17 a.m. We went swimming in the local creek in the summer, but it was in the calm spot between two well-trafficked bridges. So how, after a childhood primarily filled with reading indoors, did I come to love rural places and decide to work at the Center for Rural Affairs?

On Aug. 3, 2015, President Barack Obama and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Gina McCarthy announced the final version of America's Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan (CPP) builds on the Clean Air Act by placing the first ever limits on carbon pollution.

In my work, l meet people who are unable to obtain health insurance on a regular basis. Due to lack of coverage, needed health care services are routinely delayed or denied in ways that significantly impact patient outcomes.

If you live in farm country, the Farm Bill shapes your landscape. Whether through crop insurance, FSA loans, conservation programs, training opportunities, or any of the other dozens of policies included in this giant piece of legislation, chances are you interact with Farm Bill policy on a regular basis.

It was a cool summer morning. I had been given the chore of stacking 13 or so big round bales that were in the small alfalfa field on my parents’ acreage. I was driving an old Allis Chalmers D17 with forks on a Westendorf loader in front, and rear forks as well.

We’re excited to announce five schools have received awards to participate in the School Greenhouse to Cafeteria facilitation program for the 2016-17 school year.