Teresa Hoffman, senior communications associate, [email protected], 402.687.2100 ext. 1012
HARTINGTON, NEBRASKA – Wyatt Fraas has been recognized for 30 years of employment at the Center for Rural Affairs.
Fraas, Farm and Community Assistant Director, handles program, grant, and project management—meaning he does everything from supervising staff members to developing partnerships with other organizations and agencies to advising beginning and retiring farmers. His latest project is to lead a $10 million initiative to provide loans to independent meat processors in Nebraska.
“My current role is as much about growing my co-workers as it is about providing information to farmers, ranchers, and community members,” Fraas said. “The Center has a track record of developing national experts in their fields; I get to help make that happen.”
Background knowledge and firsthand experience in the fields of natural resources, biology, and ecology have given Fraas the ability to approach community development, food systems, farming, and ranching from the ground up.
“Wyatt is truly an asset to the Center, and I feel privileged to be a colleague,” said Sandra Renner, Farm and Community Director. “He has been a part of our work with beginning farmers following the 1980s farm crisis, which has evolved into helping farmers and ranchers achieve their own goals. In addition, he has led community-focused work on rebuilding food systems and co-creating new partnerships, which has now expanded into Iowa.”
Fraas credits the people of rural America as some of the most valuable in the nation, and feels honored to help them through his work.
“Rural America is where most of our national wealth originates—from the soil, mines, and forests,” he said. “The people who make their livelihoods from living near and harvesting those resources are the most important in the country. Our economic and social systems all depend on the health of our environment, and our farmers and ranchers control many of the sources of our water and wildlife.”
Fraas lives in rural Coleridge, Nebraska, and can be reached at the Center’s Hartington office, at 402.354.6893 or [email protected].
The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska, with 50 staff members located in satellite and home offices throughout Nebraska; an office in Nevada, Iowa; and home-based offices in South Dakota and Minnesota. Learn more at cfra.org.
