Blog Posts & Stories

Nebraskans are left to sit upon an unbalanced three-legged tax stool. The property tax leg is too long, representing more than 35 percent of the state’s tax revenues.

The Center for Rural Affairs recently released “Pathways to Land Access,” a report by Anna Johnson with support from Glen Ready. The paper is a study of the Conservation Reserve Program - Transition...

Dear Gov. Branstad, Lt. Gov. Reynolds, and Iowa lawmakers, We, the undersigned, oppose any proposal to eliminate funding and authority for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. While the...

The Nebraska Legislature is scheduled to begin debate on LB 461 later this week. Tucked within this compilation bill, posed to cut income and corporate tax rates, is a proposal to change the way agricultural and horticultural land is valued.

My wife Melanie and I farm in southwest Iowa close to Stanton. Currently, I serve as a supervisor in Montgomery County and also I am the board president for Practical Farmers of Iowa. Practical Farmers was founded in 1985 in the middle of the farm crisis.

Three years ago, Matt and Emely Hendl didn’t picture themselves as farmers. They thought Emely would support their family with her government service job after Matt retired after 20 years in the U.S...

Urgent Update! The Iowa legislature has scheduled a public hearing at the Capitol for 10 a.m. on Monday. The hearing provides an opportunity for Iowans to weigh in on the 2018 budget, which cuts several programs we support.

The U.S. continues to develop new clean and renewable energy resources to replace aging, carbon-emitting generating facilities. Lightly populated rural areas provide ample space for this new development, namely wind energy.

Joe and Carol Schmieding’s property included a waterway and a driveway running along its east side. Land east of the parcel sold in 2001. The exact location of the property line was not determined, so the couple and their new neighbors agreed to share the driveway.

​​​​​​​Water quality management, flood prevention, beginning farmer resources, and sustainable agriculture research are on the chopping block at the Iowa legislature!

May 5 is an important upcoming deadline for farmers and ranchers who are enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). CSP is a national voluntary stewardship incentives program administered...

Rural voters had a moment following last fall’s election. The national media showed up in force seeking to understand them. Enough rural voters had switched party allegiance to account for Trump’s...

​​​​​​​Amid growing public awareness, rural residents are becoming more well-versed on water quality challenges. Nutrients, bacteria and sediment levels in surface waters endanger human health, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.

​​​​​​​Rural America has once again taken its place in the national health care debate. Across America, analysis shows that rural counties would have shouldered much of the cost shift of the proposed and now dead American Health Care Act.

In 1997, the National Commission on Small Farms issued a call for a number of livestock market reforms that were included in the proposed 2010 rules. Chuck Hassebrook, then director of the Center for Rural Affairs, was named by Secretary Dan Glickman as a member of the National Commission on Small Farms and we vociferously supported the livestock market reforms called for in the final report of the Commission, entitled “A Time to Act.”

Rural Nebraska has taken its place in the national health care debate. In the weeks leading up to the anticipated vote on the American Health Care Act, rural Nebraska personified the millions of older rural adults who shouldered much of the cost shift of the proposed plan.

Five years ago, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was signed into law. This policy protects foreign born individuals who came to this country as children from deportation and allows them to apply for employment authorization.

As the Nebraska Legislature continues with its session, there have been many tax reform bills introduced by senators and our governor. At the Center for Rural Affairs, we believe in a more balanced tax system for Nebraska taxpayers.

The most effective and desirable economic development strategy for many rural communities is small entrepreneurship. Small businesses are especially important today, as opportunities to attract large employers to remote rural areas diminish.

The deadline to sign up for Whole Farm Revenue Protection is March 15. Contact your crop insurance agent today. The Center for Rural Affairs held several workshops this winter to answer farmers’...