rural America
Minorities lead rural growth, keeping communities alive
Between 1980-2015, 99 percent of rural counties saw a rise in their minority population, bringing new economic vitality and slowing population decline in those areas, according to a report by Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group focused on Western land use. The U.S. is predicted to have a majority minority-population by 2044.
‘A Better Deal’ includes rural America, says Democratic leader Schumer
Aiming toward the 2018 mid-term elections, Democratic leaders in the Senate and House unveiled an economic agenda that includes a large tax credit for job training — an idea intended to resonate in rural areas and small cities, said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. The package, called "A Better Deal," puts a priority on bringing broadband to all parts of the country and promises stricter antitrust laws to preserve competition in agriculture.
Senate panel votes to keep top USDA rural development job, tells Trump to fill it
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved unanimously a USDA-FDA funding bill that rejected President Trump's proposals to slash spending on rural development, crop insurance and food stamps. And in the first major congressional disagreement with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, the $145 billion funding bill overrode his recent elimination of the slot for an undersecretary in charge of rural economic development — and directed the administration to fill the job.
New health care act would harm farmers and ranchers
Dale McCall is a fourth-generation farmer with a sprawling field where he grows alfalfa, hay, and sunflowers near Yuma, Colorado. The 70-year-old also works part-time in the area’s school district; one of the job’s benefits is decent health care coverage, despite his pre-existing conditions. But now, as the Republican American Health Care Act moves forward, the situation for McCall and his family could change drastically. (No Paywall)
Rural hospitals could close if healthcare reform cuts Medicaid
Some 700 rural hospitals, which serve a largely older, sicker, and poorer population than most U.S. hospitals, are at risk of closing. Now, with the cuts to Medicaid being considered in Washington as part of the healthcare debate, their prospects could be even darker.
Rooted and at home in a country of nomads
Far more than their city cousins, rural Americans put down roots. In fact, 42 percent of them live in the community where they grew up, versus 30 percent of city dwellers. And despite high concern among rural residents about jobs and the economy, even those who are down on their luck are often loath to move.
Culture, more than economics, divides rural and urban America
Two-thirds of rural Americans say people in big cities hold values that are different than theirs, and nearly half of urban Americans say the same thing—that rural values are different than theirs, said the Washington Post.
As farms get bigger, must small towns get smaller?
Since the Great Depression, there have been fewer and fewer U.S. farms, thanks to mechanization, hybrid crops and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that have boosted productivity and allowed each farmer to cover more acres. A side effect, says Harvest Public Media, is the draining of the rural population and the drop in demand for services of all sorts - schools, health care, food or equipment - in the small towns across the countryside.
Georgia is more likely to investigate rural voters than city dwellers
The Daily Yonder says its analysis of State Election Board records for 2015 and 2016 in Georgia "shows that rural voters are about twice as likely to be investigated as urban voters are." The secretary of state's office, which oversees elections, says if there's a disparity, it's because rural poll workers are not as well trained rather than bias of any form.
Perdue unveils plan to reorganize USDA’s rural, farm and trade wings
Two weeks into the job, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue proposed today the first reorganization of USDA since 1994, a rapid start to President Trump's instructions to the cabinet to increase federal efficiency. The Perdue package creates a new position, undersecretary for trade; abolishes the undersecretary for rural development so Perdue would directly oversee economic development programs; and puts one undersecretary in charge of farm subsidies and land stewardship, responsibilities now split between two undersecretaries.
Food insecurity is highest in rural and southern counties
A report from the antihunger group Feeding America says that food insecurity rates are highest in rural counties and in the South, says the news site CityLab. For the report, Feeding America combined data from USDA, the Census Bureau and the Labor Department "to stitch together a portrait of food insecurity at the state and county levels," says CityLab, with Jefferson County along the Mississippi River in southwestern Mississippi having the highest rate in the nation, 38 percent.
Trump seeks regulatory reform for agriculture
President Trump will sign an executive order today for a government-wide review of regulations, policies and laws "that hinder economic growth in agriculture," said White House agriculture adviser Ray Starling. Ag groups typically regard USDA as their advocate in the federal government and generally say their problems come from other agencies, EPA most prominently.
Farmers cut costs, borrow less, in response to low profit margins
Pinched by continued declines in farm income, producers are tightening their belts this year rather than borrowing money from the bank, says a quarterly report by the Federal Reserve. The volume of new non-real-estate loans issued by ag bankers from January-March was down 16 percent compared to the same period in 2016, and it followed a significant decline in the closing months of 2016.
Rural population drops for fifth year in a row, a record
The recession of 2008–09 “continues to reverberate in rural America and is the most likely cause of a slight decline in population from 2005–16,” says the Daily Yonder. It was a record fifth consecutive year of decline.
Plan for a smaller workforce, White House tells federal agencies
The White House told federal agencies to prepare to scale down employee numbers over the next four years in line with President Trump's proposal — expressed without much detail in mid-March — to slash discretionary spending, including a 21 percent cut at USDA. Budget director Mick Mulvaney said the reductions, part of a government reorganization, were "how you drain the swamp" — a catch phrase from last fall's presidential campaign.
Rural education rates rise, but college gap with cities widens
Increasingly, rural Americans are better educated than a decade or two ago, with more people attending college and fewer people without a high school diploma. Even with a hefty increase in the portion of rural women with a college degree, urban America is moving farther ahead in the overall share of adults with a college degree, says a USDA report.
Perdue says he’ll be ‘USDA’s chief salesman’; some of his work may be at home
A shoo-in to become Agriculture secretary for President Trump, former Georgia Gov .Sonny Perdue says he will be "USDA's chief salesman around the world." Farm-state senators say the sales work should include the Trump team, which has threatened to disrupt relations with major customers for U.S. farm exports.
Solar farms, and farmers, create political sparks
As costs have dropped, solar panels are becoming a common sight, including in rural America, where farmers are using solar to offset their costs in a variety of ways, says Civil Eats. When farmers move beyond generating electricity for farmstead use into acres of solar panels, it creates a tussle between clean energy and preservation of open spaces for forests and farms, according to a news site in Connecticut, where solar has the upper hand.
Ten RECs get $4.4 billion in New ERA clean energy funding
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $4.37 billion in grants and loans to 10 rural electric cooperatives on Thursday for clean energy projects that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.1 million tons a year. With the awards, the USDA has allocated nearly $9 billion of the $9.7 billion available in the Empowering Rural America program.