Blog Posts & Stories

Visitors to Red Oak, Iowa’s, historic downtown district are in for a treat. Impressive buildings, many built before 1900, line all four sides of Fountain Square Park. Other historical monuments can be...

As demand for reliable electricity grows, improving the resilience and adaptability of energy systems becomes increasingly crucial. In Nebraska, an increase in frequent severe weather events...

Gus and Stephanie Leigh moved their family from Las Vegas to northeast Nebraska to create something new while giving back to their loved ones and nurturing the land. After Gus, an Army veteran...

Over the past decade, Sandra Renner has been an integral part of the Center for Rural Affairs team. From farm to school projects to grant writing, and from project associate to director, she’s been...

Public school administrators and board of education members across the country face tough decisions when it comes to addressing how to pay for the repair or replacement of aging equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure.

In the process of rebuilding the Malvern, Iowa, grocery store bearing his family’s name, the “cons” for Tom Mulholland have at times outweighed the “pros.” The locally owned Mulholland Grocery store had been a fixture on Malvern’s Main Street for nearly 150 years before a fire on Dec. 13, 2021, inflicted severe building damage, including a collapsed roof.

Cuando se le ocurre una gran idea, protegerla es tan importante como implementarla. Proteger su propiedad intelectual puede ser la diferencia entre que su arduo trabajo dé frutos o se pierda en el mercado. En el Center for Rural Affairs, nos encanta ver que los pequeños negocios prosperen en las zonas rurales de Nebraska. Aquí hay algunas cosas que debe saber sobre cómo proteger su idea.

When you’ve come up with a great new idea, protecting it is as important as implementing it. Safeguarding your intellectual property can be the difference between your hard work paying off or getting lost in the marketplace. At the Center for Rural Affairs, we love to see small businesses thrive in rural Nebraska. Here are a few things you should know about protecting your idea.

With fewer than four months of 2024 remaining, the window of opportunity for Congress to pass a new farm bill is narrowing. Partisan divides on key issues, as well as November’s general election, are...

As a home gardener, lover of fresh produce, and frequent visitor of farmers markets, Kathy Dirks found it strange that there wasn’t a market in her area. She couldn’t get the idea out of her head that...

Communities interested in identifying strategies to grow their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their Main Streets can apply for assistance from the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities...

Food businesses in six states can now apply for Business Builder Grants, reimbursable funds that could promote business expansion, job creation, business capacity building, and increase local products...

Specialty producers have often been underserved by federal crop insurance programs. Recognizing the discrepancy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), which administers federal crop insurance, recently announced the expansion of the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) to better serve producers.

Desde la década de 1980, el mercado de agricultores del área de Kearney en Kearney, Nebraska, ha brindado a los habitantes del condado de Buffalo productos agrícolas cultivados localmente y camaradería comunitaria. Con el paso de los años, el mercado ha crecido y continúa adaptándose para servir mejor a la comunidad.

Since the 1980s, the Kearney Area Farmers Market in Kearney, Nebraska, has provided the people of Buffalo County locally grown produce and community camaraderie. Over the years, the market has grown and continues to adapt to best serve the community.

Rural small business owners and agricultural producers contemplating energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy investments may be eligible for financial support through the Rural Energy for...

Much of the Center for Rural Affairs’ work with Native communities focuses on developing and nurturing food systems. To move forward in these efforts, staff work alongside the Santee Sioux Nation, the...

Justino Borja began his agricultural journey without having much farming knowledge, though he has always had a great fondness for working in the field. His passion for tending the land led Justino to learn from others and soak up all the knowledge they offered.

Justino Borja comenzó su camino en la agricultura sin tener mucho conocimiento agrícola, aunque siempre ha tenido una gran afición por el trabajo del campo. Su pasión por el cuidado de la tierra llevó a Justino a aprender de otros y a absorber todos los conocimientos que estos le ofrecían.

Freedom has fueled generations of farmers, allowing them to change their practices to fit their family needs. A relatively new farming option is to host renewable energy projects like wind or solar, which provide direct benefits in the form of stable income while allowing the surrounding land to still be used for agriculture production.