Blog Posts & Stories

This week, a bill supporting beginning and aspiring farmers and ranchers – the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act (BFROA) – was introduced in Congress by Reps. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).

The unexpected passing of Jeff Reynolds, long-time small business lending program director, made 2017 a year of change and transition for our small business development work.

Iowa’s 2017 legislative session ended without a bill to create a long-term, stable funding source for water quality. Hard feelings amassed all around, between the House and Senate, and between the legislature and the public at large.

Note: This is the second in a series highlighting lending activities from Sept. 1, 2016, to Aug. 31, 2017. Our staff placed 124 loans totaling $2,541,952 in that time period. To apply for a microloan...

Note: This is the first in a series highlighting lending activities from Sept. 1, 2016, to Aug. 31, 2017. The below features a select number of businesses, our staff placed 124 loans totaling $2,541...

When it comes to rural development, the town of Bloomfield in southeast Iowa is holding its own.

​​​​​​​Disparity in rural high-speed internet access has recently garnered national attention.

​​​​​​​The expansion of internet access for rural Nebraska is the focus of a recently released grant funding opportunity and upcoming legislative hearings.

“Right man, right place, right time,” said Al Leal, president of Al’s Old House Repair, LLC. His historic carpentry and renovation business landed him in the “right place” of Red Cloud, Nebraska, a town with fewer than 1,000 people, and at the former home of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Willa Cather, and the internationally known Willa Cather Foundation.

The demographic challenges that try rural communities in nearly all aspects of health care delivery are also prominent in the delivery of behavioral and mental health care services.

October is Women’s Small Business Month, a perfect time to reflect on the growth and success of Women’s Business Centers all over the U.S. The Center for Rural Affairs Women’s Business Center is in...

Family farmers and ranchers have waited years for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to institute basic fairness protections in the poultry and livestock industries. However, last week...

With the state unicameral legislature out of session until 2018, policy advocates are using the downtime to drum up conversations about imbalances in the state's tax system, particularly agricultural property taxes.

Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed their versions of a budget resolution, including “reconciliation” instructions to cut spending and pave the way for Congress to pass sweeping tax cuts for the wealthy with only 51 votes.

​​​​​​​Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its comprehensive 2018 farm bill policy platform, "An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill."

Last week, the Local Food and Regional Market Supply Act (The Local FARMS Act) was introduced in Congress by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).

Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition released findings from the first-ever comprehensive evaluation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher...

Did you know the Center for Rural Affairs has an endowment? We do! It’s called the Granary Foundation, and it exists to ensure the Center can continue doing our important work in rural America for generations to come.

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.

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.