Niobrara Nebraska from nearby hill

Blog Posts & Stories

What's happening with the Center for Rural Affairs? Find the latest on rural America and our work here.

Transmission projects announced during the last 10 years are now beginning to come online. Combined with new wind and solar installments, these projects have become important pieces of the economic puzzle in the rural Midwest and Great Plains. The significance of renewable energy to rural economic development is well understood, however, less is known about the impact of transmission development.
  • Small Towns
Octubre es el Mes Nacional de la Granja a la Escuela, un tiempo para reconocer la importancia de mejorar la nutrición infantil, apoyar las economías locales y educar a las comunidades sobre los orígenes de sus alimentos.
  • Small Towns
Members of the Omaha Tribe are working to improve access to fresh food, starting with growing produce in their own communities. The Center for Rural Affairs has worked alongside them during the last...
  • Small Towns
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today a rollback of two rules of the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). Also today, Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue...
  • Farm and Food
As we move toward reauthorization of the next farm bill, the Conservation Title programs, funding, and authorities are more critical now than ever. The farm conservation community, representing...
  • Farm and Food
An appreciation for nature, herbs in particular, led to a lifelong passion and career for Rachel Liester, owner of Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center LLC, near Stanton, Nebraska. She teaches...
  • Lending
For many years, farmers across the country have purchased crop insurance policies as a way to manage the risk of a yield or income loss. Crop insurance has stepped into the spotlight as the highest...
  • Farm and Food
Open enrollment for the federal Health Insurance Marketplace begins in just three weeks – on Nov. 1 – and Nebraskans looking for health coverage are encouraged to prepare now.
  • Policy
The Center for Rural Affairs is among 210 farm, rural, worker, and consumer advocacy organizations calling on Congress to adopt policies that address unfair contracts for farmers, increase market...
  • Farm and Food
​​​​​​​Rural America, and the nation as a whole, has entered a phase of significant demographic change.
  • Small Towns
  • Policy
Along a gravel road on the Omaha Reservation is a white house surrounded by gardens and fruit trees. On one side of the property is an aging outhouse – the namesake of the small operation, Outhouse...
  • Small Towns
This week, the American Prairie Conservation Act was introduced by Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Reps. Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Tim...
  • Farm and Food
Congress is in the process of writing another farm bill. Political distractions are running high in Washington. But distracted or not – the current farm bill expires in September 2018. If Congress...
  • Farm and Food
  • Small Towns
The Iowa legislature created the Iowa Solar Energy System Tax Credit in 2012. Designed to encourage local investment, the credit offsets up to 15 percent of the cost of a new installation. Legislators included limits of $5,000 per home or $20,000 per business to ensure accessibility.
  • Policy
Property tax relief and adequate funding for schools and local governments was the topic of a recent community conversation in Nebraska City, hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs.
  • Farm and Food
  • Small Towns
October is National Farm to School Month, a time to recognize the importance of improving child nutrition, supporting local economies, and educating communities about the origins of their food.
  • Small Towns
The latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Graham-Cassidy Health Care Repeal Plan, is a prescription for harm to rural America.
  • Policy
Do you care about soil health, clean water, and farmers’ ability to make a living and steward their land? Time to tune in. Congress has started work on the next farm bill, and now is when they need to...
  • Farm and Food
This week, the Center for Rural Affairs joins more than 320 child and youth advocacy organizations in a letter to Congress expressing our support for the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017. The bill would...
  • Small Towns
The Center for Rural Affairs farm bill team has been working hard to make sure you have up-to-date and important farm bill information. Over the past few weeks we have sent out information regarding our farm bill priorities.
  • Farm and Food