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.

Para los agricultores que sufrieron una reducción de precio o no pudieron vender sus cultivos o ganado debido al COVID-19, el Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA) actualmente está aceptando aplicaciones para el Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
  • Farm and Food
​​​​​​​A recently introduced piece of legislation into the U.S. Senate is a positive step forward in addressing climate change in rural areas.
  • Small Towns
  • Policy
Too many times, rural Iowans have been the farmers, homeowners, and small business owners who waded the high flood waters to salvage what they could after record-breaking floods.
  • Policy
A nation of immigrants, the United States has a proud history of being a multicultural nation for all of those looking for a fresh start, new opportunities, and a place to build their dreams.
  • Small Towns
La pandemia COVID-19 ha estimulado el desarrollo de nuevos servicios, lo que significa que algunos agricultores y productores pueden estar interactuando por primera vez con las agencias del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA, por sus siglas en Inglés).
  • Farm and Food
The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the development of new services, which means some farmers and producers may be interacting with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies for the first time.
  • Farm and Food
When COVID-19 started to ravage the economy, Congress stepped in to help. The quick action was warranted, but it left little time for thorough review. Signed into law on June 5, the Payment Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) amended many of the program missteps that time revealed.
  • Lending
In 2019, the U.S. reached a landmark in its wind energy capacity when 100 gigawatts — or enough to provide electricity for about 32 million homes — were produced, according to a report from the American Wind Energy Association.
  • Policy
When you say yes to something new, you don’t always know what you’re getting into. And, a new adventure can often be the best medicine.
  • Small Towns
For the past 14 years, Tina Biteghe Bi Ndong has witnessed the work the Center for Rural Affairs has done with the West Point, Nebraska, community. As the executive director of the West Point Chamber...
  • Lending
  • Small Towns
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) from producers who have experienced a price decrease, or were unable to market their crops or livestock due to COVID-19.
  • Farm and Food
UPDATE Tuesday, June 16: The application process for Small Business Stabilization Grants for Livestock Producers has been paused until Monday, June 22. Applications will not be accepted during this...
  • Lending
​​​​​​​Wiping out the last five years of solar job growth, the COVID-19 pandemic has reset total employment in the U.S. solar industry back to 2014 levels.
  • Policy
For almost two decades, Luis Salinas, his brother Jose, and their father, Cristobal, have been serving up fan favorites at their restaurant, Burrito House, in Schuyler, Nebraska.
  • Lending
Northeast Nebraska and nonprofit organizations—Shelby Ostrand is a fan of both, and a stranger to neither. Recently hired as the Center for Rural Affairs’ marketing and communications associate...
  • Small Towns
Mark Tjelmeland’s interest in conservation can be traced back to his childhood when his mother taught him about topsoil, subsoil, and why topsoil depth differed between locations on his family’s farm...
  • Policy
  • Farm and Food
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened up applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which offers producers of many commodities payments if they experienced a price...
  • Farm and Food
Planting and emergence progress for both corn and soybeans are currently ahead of the five-year average across the Midwest.
  • Policy
Though growing up in Lomé, the capital of Togo, West Africa, meant farm life was unfamiliar to Irene Atayi, it didn’t stop her from developing a love of growing plants.
  • Farm and Food
With Congress in gridlock over future stimulus spending during the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses with loans through the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program, or RMAP, still have not received any financial help.
  • Lending