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Over the years, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grants and loans have served as a lifeline for rural communities, providing critical funding for water and wastewater infrastructure, public and community buildings, and essential community service facilities.
- Small Towns
Tucked within the text of both the House and Senate’s bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is language which seeks to fundamentally change the Medicaid program.
- Policy
Problem: The anatomy of the female pelvic region makes women particularly susceptible to inappropriate urethral catheterization. To date, there are no devices that block the vaginal entrance, expose...
- Lending
About six years ago, Nebraska farmers Ruth Ready and her husband Sid stopped into their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to ask about loan programs and opportunities. While there, Ruth was...
- Farm and Food
As an active and idealistic college student, I traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in a national lobby day for young people who wanted to talk with senators and representatives about supporting renewable energy.
- Policy
Midwestern states have great potential to generate energy from renewable sources. Renewable energy provides these states with clean power as well as several other benefits in the form of new sources of income for landowners that host projects or job opportunities stemming from construction, operation, and manufacturing.
- Policy
Retirement from a farm business may not mean moving away or giving up on mentoring the next generation, but it does entail transferring management decisions to someone else. It can be a gradual or...
- Farm and Food
Tim Graber had just finished applying for a utility rebate for the new solar panels on his turkey building when he was struck by an idea: “Why couldn’t the school do this?”
- Policy
South Dakota is fifth in the U.S. for wind energy potential. That’s enough potential to allow residents to meet their energy needs 300 times over. In fact, the state has already started down the path to realizing this possibility by producing more than 26 percent of its energy from wind.
- Policy
Sandra Barrera, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was chosen as the first ever Center for Rural Affairs’ 2016 Latino Partner of the Year. She was recognized at an award ceremony on March 10 in York, Nebraska...
- Lending
We investigated statewide usages and participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program – Transition Incentive Program (CRP-TIP) in South Dakota, North Dakota...
- Farm and Food
Farmers and ranchers, have you heard of Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)?
- Farm and Food
A recent report from the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that foreign holdings of U.S. farmland doubled between 2004 and 2014. Foreign investors now control 27.3 million acres of farmland.
- Farm and Food
Doris Lux, of Columbus, Nebraska, was chosen as the recipient of the Center for Rural Affairs 2016 Extra Mile Award. She was recognized at an award ceremony on March 10 in York, Nebraska. The Extra...
- Lending
When I think of farmers, veteran farmers in particular, I think of hard working and innovative men and women. I see their work in rows of fields covering the rural landscape, in rolling green pastures dotted with livestock, and on shelves in grocery stores.
- Farm and Food
The Senate’s current draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, the plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, strikes directly at the vulnerabilities of health care in rural America.
- Policy
Six years ago, I was finishing my freshman year of college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I was studying political science, specifically international relations, and was doing well in school, but I found myself yearning for something more.
- Farm and Food
With farmers market season upon us, we’re all excited to dive into the tasty local harvest. But how can we get the most out of this delicious produce? Proper preparation!
- Farm and Food
- Small Towns
Glennis McClure, of Beatrice, Nebraska, was chosen as the Center for Rural Affairs 2016 Friend of the Year. She was recognized at an award ceremony on March 10 in York, Nebraska. The Friend of the...
- Lending
Farmers are master jugglers: They manage crops, maintain equipment, and market products, often while balancing a second job and family demands.
- Farm and Food
