Vatican Encourages Support for Family Farms

Vatican Encourages International Support for Small Family Farms

Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the international community to support small family farms and make sure they have access to the increasingly globalized market, according to a report by John Tavis with the Catholic News Service.

The pope was speaking to representatives of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, based in Rome. He praised that organization for its efforts to fight hunger and fairly distribute development assistance to poorer countries.

“Humanity is presently experiencing a worrisome paradox – side by side with ever new and positive advances in the areas of the economy, science, and technology, we are witnessing a continuing increase of poverty,” the pope said.

Among those most vulnerable to economic changes today are family farmers, he said. Referencing a WTO conference on commerce and farm products which was held in Hong Kong in December, the Pope said:

“The Holy See is confident that a sense of responsibility and solidarity with the most disadvantaged will prevail, so that narrow interests and the logic of power will be set aside. It must not be forgotten that the vulnerability of rural areas has significant repercussions on the subsistence of small farmers and their families if they are denied access to the market.”

The pope told the experts that in devising solutions to world hunger, they need to remember that technical progress, although necessary, is not everything. True progress also protects the dignity of human beings and enables people to share their material and spiritual resources for the benefit of all, he said. Source: The Catholic News Service, Vatican City.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Organic Transition Program Announced

Organic Transition Program Announced

Hartington – The Center for Rural Affairs, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Nebraska Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), will host an organic transition information meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 13th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Prairie Winds Community Center in Bridgeport, NE. NRCS staff will explain the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) application and program process while a local organic farmer will address organic farming concepts, requirements and practices.

The NRCS has added an Organic Transition Incentives Program to the EQIP to provide financial incentives for farmers and ranchers to convert cropland and pasture to certified “organic” status.

The program authorizes an annual payment of $50 per acre for 3 years, for up to 160 acres of cropland. The pasture payment is $10/acre on a maximum of 320 acres. Operators can apply for either or both programs. Since EQIP allows for more local control to meet local needs, some details of the program may vary between counties and Natural Resource Districts. Application deadline for the program is February 28, 2006 at your local NRCS office.

Organic prices are usually 100-200% of conventional grains. But, to sell products in the “organic” market, farmers and ranchers must comply with certain restrictions and rules known as the National Organic Rule. The biggest obstacle for many farmers and ranchers is the 36-month transition period, where no unauthorized inputs can be applied, yet the product does not qualify for the organic premiums.

The EQIP program provides financial incentives to offset possible financial risks, from yield reductions, and/or lender/landlord agreements during the transition phase. Incentives can also help offset expenses for additional machinery and facilities not now a part of many conventional farms’ portfolio such as additional tillage or weed control equipment, storage facilities, and equipment needed to manage a more diverse crop mixture.

Transition to organic production is much more than adding a single practice. It is about changing the production system. To provide local expertise and instruction, applicants to the Organic Incentive Program can participate in a three-year education program sponsored by the Center for Rural Affairs, designed to provide detailed information on what is required to certify organic and the practices needed to qualify.

For details on the National Organic Program (NOP) rules, visit the USDA’s home page: www.usda.gov, click on “Agriculture”, then Organic Certification. For more information on the NRCS EQIP Program, contact your local NRCS office, Marva Holt, organics@sktdalton.net 308-377-2121, or Martin Kleinschmit at the Center for Rural Affairs, martink@cfra.org , 402-254-6893.

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

U.S. Income Inequality Grew Over Past 20 Years

Income Inequality Grew Across the Country Over the Past Two Decades

In most states, the gap between the highest-income families and poor and middle-income families grew significantly between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. The study is one of the few to examine income inequality at the state as well as national level.

The incomes of the country's richest families have climbed substantially over the past two decades, while middle- and lower- income families have seen only modest increases. This trend is in marked contrast to the broadly shared increases in prosperity between World War II and the 1970s.

In addition, while income inequality declined following the bursting of the stock and high-tech bubbles in 2000 -- both of which were quite costly to the highest-income families -- early national-level data suggest that inequality began growing again in 2003. Incomes at the top have rebounded strongly from the stock market correction, while the negative effects of the recent recession on low- and moderate-income families have lasted longer than usual. Thus, it appears that the two-decade-long trend of worsening income inequality has resumed.

The study is based on Census income data that have been adjusted to account for inflation, the impact of federal taxes, and the cash value of food stamps, subsidized school lunches, and housing vouchers. Income from capital gains is also included. The study compares combined data from 2001-2003 with data from the early 1980s and early 1990s, time periods chosen because they stand as comparable low points of their respective business cycles. Its findings include:

-- In 38 states, the incomes of the bottom fifth of families grew more slowly than the incomes of the top fifth of families between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. In these 38 states, the incomes of the richest grew by an average of $45,800 (62 percent), while the incomes of the poorest grew by only $3,000 (21 percent). In other words, the poorest families -- who saw an increase in purchasing power of only $143 per year -- have not fared nearly as well as the richest families during this period. In only one state -- Alaska -- did the incomes of the low-income families grow faster than the incomes of the top fifth.

-- In 39 states, the incomes of the middle fifth of families grew more slowly than the incomes of the top fifth of families between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. In no state did the income gap (degree of income inequality) between middle- and high-income families narrow during this period.

-- Within the top fifth of families, the wealthiest families enjoyed the highest income growth over the past two decades. In the 11 states that are large enough to permit this calculation, the incomes of the top 5 percent of families rose between 66 percent and 132 percent during this period. This is faster than the income growth among the top fifth of families as a whole in these states - and much faster than the income growth among the bottom fifth of families in these states, which ranged from 11 percent to 24 percent.

-- The five states with the largest income gap between the top and bottom fifths of families are New York, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Florida. Generally, income gaps are larger in the Southeast and Southwest and smaller in the Midwest, Great Plains, and Mountain states.
Income gaps tend to be larger in states where incomes in the bottom fifth are below the national average, and to be smaller in states where incomes in the bottom fifth are above the national average.

-- The five states with the largest income gaps between the top and middle fifths of families are Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Arizona, and Tennessee.

Income inequality increased rapidly during the 1980s. During the 1990s exceptionally low unemployment produced relatively broad-based wage growth during the latter part of the decade. This broad-based growth ended with the 2001 economic downturn. Growth in real wages for low-and moderate-income families began to slow and by 2003 wages began to decline. Thus far, the recovery from the downturn has not been strong enough to generate the kind of income gains among low- and middle-income families seen in the late 1990s.

Growing Inequality Has Costly Consequences

"Growing income inequality harms this nation in a number of ways," stated Jared Bernstein, Senior Economist, Economic Policy Institute and co-author of the report. "When income growth is concentrated at the top of the income scale, the people at the bottom have a much harder time lifting themselves out of poverty and giving their children a decent start in life."

"A fundamental principle of our economic system is that the benefits of economic growth will flow to those responsible for their creation. When how fast your income grows depends on your position in the income scale, this principle is violated. In that sense, today's unprecedented gap between the growth of the typical family's income and productivity is our most pressing economic problem."

States Can Partially Offset Trend Toward Larger Income Gaps

The biggest cause of rising income inequality over the past two decades has been the erosion of wages for the 70 percent of workers with less than a college education. That erosion, in turn, reflects long periods of higher-than-average unemployment, globalization, the shift from manufacturing jobs to low-wage service jobs, immigration, the weakening of unions, and the decline in the minimum wage. More recently, even college- educated workers have experienced real declines in wages, in part because of offshore competition.

While many of these economic factors are largely outside the control of state policymakers, "there's a lot that states can do to mitigate the effects of increasing inequality," Elizabeth McNichol, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and co-author of the report noted. Possible steps include raising the state minimum wage, strengthening supports for low- income working families, and reforming the unemployment insurance system. In addition, states can pursue tax policies that partially offset the growing inequality of pre-tax incomes.

Pretense and Deception at USDA

Pretense and Deception at USDA

by John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

A USDA Inspector General’s audit released on January 18, 2006 found that the Packers and Stockyards Administration has fundamentally failed to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act – the best assurance farmers and ranchers have that livestock markets will be fair, open and competitive.

Senior officials in the Packers and Stockyards Administration blocked investigations from being referred to USDA lawyers or the Justice Department and employees of the agency were instructed to create the appearance of enforcement activity by recording everything from routine correspondence and review of public data as “investigations.”

The Packers and Stockyards Administration perpetrated a lie, and disillusioned farmers and ranchers in the process. It is wrong for government to turn a blind eye to citizens’ concerns. It is worse when government tells citizens that their concerns are valid and, through pretense and deception, leads citizens to believe that their concerns are being addressed.

Livestock market competition laws are supported by a vast majority of farmers, ranchers and rural citizens, regardless of geography or political affiliation. USDA’s failed enforcement has gone on far too long and has occurred irrespective of the Administration’s party affiliation.

James Link, new director of the Packers and Stockyards Administration, has inherited a severe problem. We hope he will fix it. But the time has come for Congress to act, addressing the lack of competition in livestock markets with legislative reforms and clear directions for enforcement.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

USDA Only Pretends to Investigate Packers

Report: USDA Only Pretended to Do Probes
By LIBBY QUAID
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 18, 2006; 7:39 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department has pretended to investigate anticompetitive behavior among stockyards and meat companies since 1999, but in hundreds of cases hasn't actually filed complaints, says an audit released Wednesday.

Senior officials blocked investigations from being referred to department lawyers, who can file complaints or refer cases to the Justice Department, according to the audit by the agency's inspector general.

In the meantime, employees were told to create the appearance of a high rate of enforcement by logging routine letters and reviews of public data as investigations, the inspector general said.

"Competition and complex investigations were not being performed, and timely action was not being taken," the audit said.

As of last August, 50 investigations were being held up by deputy administrator JoAnn Waterfield, who had final say over sending cases to department lawyers. Waterfield quit abruptly last month without giving a reason.

Waterfield reprimanded one regional office last year because it didn't count routine correspondence as an investigation. After being chided, the east region climbed from last to first among the three regions by reclassifying more than 300 routine activities as investigations.

Department officials acknowledged the problems but said they're being fixed.

“Of course I was bothered," said James E. Link, the new administrator of the Grain Inspection, Stockyards and Packers Administration. "When I came here; I didn't know the agency had those internal problems.

You can't fix a problem till you know you have it."

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who sought the audit, said top officials were blocking investigations "and then cooking the books to cover up the agency's lack of enforcement."

"America's producers have faced an increasingly integrated and consolidated market, but in the past five years, USDA has made virtually no attempt to investigate or take action against unfair and anticompetitive market behavior," said Harkin, senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The report didn't give a reason for the lack of action, but Link said he didn't think employees deliberately tried to inflate their numbers. He said employees have told him they were frustrated with management and felt they couldn't do their jobs.

"I think there was a lot of misunderstanding between headquarters and field offices as to what really constituted investigations," he said. While anticompetitive complaints have not been initiated since 1999, officials said there have been complaints involving financial and trade practices. There were 104 financial or trade cases referred to department lawyers from 2003 through 2005. There have been three more since Jan. 1, and several more referrals are expected in the next few days, officials said.

Under the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act, the department is charged with investigating unfairness, deception and practices that inhibit competition in livestock, meatpacking and poultry trade.

With about 150 employees and a budget last year of $19.5 million, the Packers and Stockyards Program regulates a livestock industry worth about $120 billion.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Strategies for Alternative Ag Businesses

PARTNERSHIP OFFERS A SERIES ON STRATEGIES FOR ALTERNATIVE AG BUSINESSES

Waterloo, Iowa --- Effective business strategies for alternative agriculture ventures is the focus of three February workshops. The UNI Regional Business Center/SBDC is partnering with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Northeast Iowa Community College, Iowa State University Extension, UNI Local Foods Project, and UNI Strategic Marketing Services to offer three workshops for new and expanding businesses in the alternative agriculture industry.

From start-up information to market, competition and industry data, the Internet is a terrific resource for alternative agriculture businesses. "Marketing I: Research Your Idea" will be offered on Thursday, February 2 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. to guide participants through the process of conducting research on the web using easy to learn search tools and resources. For those individuals new to the Internet, an early bird computer course covering Internet "surfing" will precede the workshop from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Through "Marketing II: Your Advertising Strategy," participants will learn how to spend, where to advertise and what to say in order to effectively and efficiently market their alternative ag products. This workshop will be held Thursday, February 9 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. An early bird computer training on web site "must knows" will also be held prior to this session from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Knowing how to find and manage a business' capital is vital for its growth and stability. On February 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., entrepreneurs can attend "Money In -- Money Out" to explore financing options for their alternative agriculture venture followed by a lesson on managing that money to increase profits.

All workshops are free to the public and will be held at The Dairy Center, Room 115, located on Highway 150 south of Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar, Iowa. Early bird computer trainings will be held in Room 110.

Interested persons should pre-register with the UNI Regional Business Center/SBDC by calling (319) 236-8123 or e-mailing navigateyourfuture@myentre.net.

Workshops offered in conjunction with MyEntreNet, an entrepreneurial development system.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

USDA Pretends to Enforce Packers and Stockyards Act

By Andrew Martin
Chicago Tribune
Washington Bureau
January 19, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Agriculture has effectively blocked employees from pursuing complaints of anti-competitive behavior in the livestock industry and inflated the number of investigations it has conducted to make it appear it is vigorously upholding the law, the department's inspector general reported Wednesday.

At a time when the livestock industry is controlled by increasingly fewer companies, the USDA hasn't filed a formal complaint for anti-competitive behavior in the meat or poultry industry since 1999, the audit found. In addition, the arm of the department charged with ensuring competition in the livestock industry, the Packers and Stockyards Program, rarely has conducted complex investigations that would involve large amounts of resources or focus on a major firm, the audit said.

Meanwhile, the record keeping of the monitoring arm was so inadequate that the office of Inspector General Phyllis Fong could not track the progress of some investigations and couldn't figure out why others were started in the first place. Of the 1,842 investigations that were under way in June 2005, the records were incomplete in 973 of those cases.

The Packers and Stockyards Program's "tracking system could not be relied upon, competition and complex investigations were not being performed and timely action was not being taken," the report said.

The program, according to the report, had no formal definition for what constituted an investigation. As a result, employees counted routine correspondence to companies and the tracking of public data as full-fledged investigations.

In one instance, the deputy administrator reprimanded a regional office for logging too few investigations. To make up for the deficiency, the office began logging activities that previously had not counted.

"The region climbed from last to first among the three regions by reclassifying over 300 routine activities as investigations," the report said.

That deputy administrator, JoAnn Waterfield, urged her managers to "perform their functions in more of a `big picture' view and to evaluate the repercussions that their decisions have on the agency and the livestock and poultry industries," the report said.

Waterfield, who resigned last month, could not be located for comment.

In instances where employees initiated investigations about competition in the marketplace, the probes often languished in Washington waiting for approval, the report found. In August, 50 investigations were awaiting approval, some of them dating back two or three years.

Because USDA lawyers have received so few referrals for action from the Packers and Stockyards Program, they have not pursued an anti-competition complaint in the livestock industry since 1999, the report said.

The Packers and Stockyards Program has about 150 employees and an annual budget of about $20 million.

Latest in series of criticisms

The inspector general's audit is not the first time the Agriculture Department has been criticized for lackluster enforcement of competition in the livestock industry. The inspector general made similar remarks in 1997, as did the General Accounting Office in 2000. But according to the most recent report, USDA's actions to address the problems were insufficient.

James Link, who was hired as the administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration in October, said he agreed with the findings, and vowed to change the agency's culture to encourage vigorous enforcement.

"I don't think it's quite as ineffective as the report shows, but it can be a lot more effective," Link said. "Part of the problem was it was mired down in paperwork and a lack of communications between different portions of the administration, and we are trying to streamline that."

Link said he was also moving authority back to the regional offices to give them more autonomy to investigate complaints.

"We put the authority back out in the field and turned them loose to let them do the job," he said. " A lot of the people told us that they didn't feel like they had the freedom to do their job."

Harkin urges big changes

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who requested the audit, called for sweeping changes at the Agriculture Department, including creating an office of special counsel to oversee matters of competition in the marketplace.

"America's producers have faced an increasingly integrated and consolidated market, but in the past five years, USDA has made virtually no attempt to investigate or take action against unfair and anti-competitive market changes," Harkin said.

Family farm groups and rural advocates said the inspector general's report confirms their longtime contention that Agriculture is too cozy with agribusiness. Numerous top officials at USDA have been hired from agribusiness companies or trade groups representing the meat industry.

"USDA leadership defrauded farmers," said Michael Stumo, an attorney who represents the Organization for Competitive Markets in Lincoln, Neb., a not-for-profit group. "Farmers and ranchers complaining to USDA about unlawfulness of [meatpackers] had their complaints buried due to USDA cronyism."

The inspector general's report was released after years of intense consolidation in the livestock industry, both at the farm and processor level. Increasingly, farmers are raising pigs and chickens under contract with a livestock company, rather than owning them themselves, a trend that critics say has driven down prices and decreased the influence of spot markets.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

One Farmer Instead of Twenty - A David Engel Song

David Engel of Viroqua, Wisconsin e-mailed me in response to my question in the January newsletter - "What if Rural Mattered?" His response is posted below, with a song that explains David's response to the question "What if Rural Mattered?" On the celebration Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, January 16th, I got to thinking as I posted Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech that day, that perhaps we should be asking what rural Americans dream about, and ask the "What if Rural Mattered" question in a different way. If Rural mattered, what would that look like - dare to dream as Dr. King dreamed - what is your dream for rural America?

In the words in David's song, I hear some of his dream for rural America, and some o I hope you will share some of your dreams too, by posting them here.

Your little bit in the January 06 [Center for Rural Affairs newsletter] What if Rural Mattered caught my eye and reminded me of this song I wrote back in 97-98, can't remember, which more reflects what if rural DOESN'T matter, but, same thing, as you say, the question is presumptuous, either way....!!!

We had just left for our summer vacation and had driven about 8 miles when my wife pointed down a road and said there was a big [dairy] parlor going in down there, four to five hundred cows, and my first thought was, 'Yeah, one farmer instead of twenty.' So we kept driving, and I played with that thought over the vacation.

A week later I was reading where the Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, was quoted as saying, "I'm not concerned with running out of commodities, I am concerned with running out of farmers." So I thought, 'Boy, great minds think alike...' Then, of course, I rememberedthat fools seldom differ, too.

I guess we will all be fools if it comes to pass that we 'run out of farmers.' Enjoy! Keep up the good work, it is appreciated!!

David Engel
Viroqua, Wisconsin

One Farmer Instead of Twenty

One farmer instead of twenty, to work so hard and give us plenty
Of milk a fruit and corn and beans it looks so good it surely seems
The way it ought to be and all but when that one farmer starts to fall
That one farmer instead of twenty then there could certainly be less plenty
I mean I mean I mean I mean I mean....with no farmer instead of nineteen

A paradox for sure my friend and all the more for if and when
There are so many many folkses who want to eat and yet the joke is
All around there's all this soil and no one who can spin and toil
Yes, a paradox for every nation for us and at least the next generation
I mean I mean I mean I mean I mean....with no farmers instead of nineteen

Keeping the farmer on the land tis so simple to understand
Simply a matter of enough money to make ends meet it's sad not funny
A national policy of cheap food sucks wealth from the land it's lewd
The issue here is one of economics or will we read about us in the comics
I mean I mean I mean I mean I mean....when there's no farmers instead of nineteen

And so it is and so it goes while winter's white turns spring's red rose
Sure it's hard to say just what might be it might not happen so let's just wait and see
And watch these few farmers farm the land with more and more and more hiredhands
That's a lot of work to do the work of twenty as we start a brand new cent'ry
I mean I mean I mean I mean I mean....do we want one farmer....or maybe nineteen?

post your dream for rural America here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action

Center Participates in Western RC&D Conference

Center for Rural Affairs Participates in the Western RC&D Association Conference

As part of the Western RC&D Association Conference, Kathie Starkweather, Policy Organizer for the Center for Rural Affairs will be one of the presenters at the four day event. She will be discussing the National Rural Action Program- a new Center for Rural Affairs initiative.

The Center for Rural Affairs is in the beginning phases of creating a vehicle for change: the National Rural Action Network to engage tens of thousands of rural citizens from across the nation in creating real and sustainable economic opportunities for everyone in rural America. Rural areas are falling farther behind metropolitan areas in all economic indicators, and yet national policymakers have not responded with rural policies that create genuine opportunity for rural people.

Hence, the need for an organized constituency to impact rural policy decisions and create rural opportunity must be a priority. The Center for Rural Affairs, through the Rural Action Network, is working to create that constituency and that rural impact on national public policy debates.

“The Center for Rural Affairs has worked long and hard to help create public polices that will offer fair opportunities for rural communities. Because of the Center’s efforts, we have seen some good rural economic development opportunities created for rural microbusinesses. The Rural Action Network seeks to engage rural citizens in building on these successes in the future,” said Starkweather

Several other topics will be discussed including entrepreneurship, rural development, youth, methamphetamine issues, and preservation of natural resources. The conference will include a President’s Reception at the Platte River Road Archway Monument, tours of Kearney and Minden, Nebraska, and success stories from RC&D councils throughout the Western RC&D area. Other invited guests that are expected to be there include; Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Governor Dave Heineman, and Representative Tom Osborne.

The conference, hosted by the Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development, will be held in Kearney, Nebraska at the Holiday Inn from January 22-25, 2006. The Public is invited to attend. Registration information is available on the Western Association web site at www.westernrcd.org.

For background information on the Rural Action Network see - http://www.cfra.org/

Location-Kearney, Nebraska at the Holiday Inn
Date- January 22-25, 2006

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Center Hosts Estate and Financial Planning Workshop - II

Center for Rural Affairs Hosts Estate and Financial Planning Workshop

Hartington – The Center for Rural Affairs, North Central Risk Management Education Center and University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will host a Finance, Estate and Enterprise Planning Workshop for Farm/Ranch Transfer in Hay Springs, Nebraska on February 1, 2006 in the Lister-Sage Community Center starting at 9:00 a.m. There is no charge for the workshop.

“Where will your farm or ranch be in 20 years?” questions Wyatt Fraas. “The presentations and consultations with finance and estate planners can help farmers and ranchers answer such questions.”

The focus of the presentation will be what farmers and ranchers should be considering whether they are nearing retirement or just starting their farm/ranch operation. These issues will be discussed by the presenters in the morning and then a one on one discussion will occur in the afternoon session of the workshop.

“These presentations will help folks with examples and resources for successfully planning a farm or ranch transfer,” said Fraas. “The individual consultations will answer questions that people have about their specific situations.”

Joe Hawbaker, Hawbaker Law Office in Omaha, will give presentations on estate and tax planning for farm transfer, Medicaid concerns, and legal issues in farm transfer.

Dave Goeller, Transition Specialist for UNL Extension in Lincoln, will talk about financial planning, business plans, insurance tools, and special programs for farm transfer.

Wyatt Fraas, Center for Rural Affairs, Program Specialist, will talk about enterprises for the next generation of farmers such as farm diversification, direct marketing and specialty markets to meet consumer demands.

Hawbaker and Goeller have been long-time advisors at farm legal and financial clinics run by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture Farm Mediation program. Fraas has provided technical assistance and educational materials regarding beginning farmers, alternative crops and marketing for over ten years.

For additional information, contact Wyatt Fraas at 402 254-6893, wyattf@cfra.org

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Center Hosts Estate and Financial Planning Workshop

Center for Rural Affairs Hosts Estate and Financial Planning Workshop

Hartington – The Center for Rural Affairs, North Central Risk Management Education Center and University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will host a Finance, Estate and Enterprise Planning Workshop for Farm/Ranch Transfer in Bloomfield, Nebraska on January 26, 2006 in the Bloomfield Community Building starting at 9:00 a.m. There is no charge for the workshop.

“Where will your farm or ranch be in 20 years?” questions Wyatt Fraas. “The presentations and consultations with finance and estate planners can help farmers and ranchers answer such questions.”

The focus of the presentation will be what farmers and ranchers should be considering whether they are nearing retirement or just starting their farm/ranch operation. These issues will be discussed by the presenters in the morning and then a one on one discussion will occur in the afternoon session of the workshop.

“These presentations will help folks with examples and resources for successfully planning a farm or ranch transfer,” said Fraas. “The individual consultations will answer questions that people have about their specific situations.”

Joe Hawbaker, Hawbaker Law Office in Omaha, will give presentations on estate and tax planning for farm transfer, Medicaid concerns, and legal issues in farm transfer.

Dave Goeller, Transition Specialist for UNL Extension in Lincoln, will talk about financial planning, business plans, insurance tools, and special programs for farm transfer.

Wyatt Fraas, Center for Rural Affairs, will talk about enterprises for the next generation of farmers such as farm diversification, direct marketing and specialty markets to meet consumer demands.

Hawbaker and Goeller have been long-time advisors at farm legal and financial clinics run by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture Farm Mediation program. Fraas has provided technical assistance and educational materials regarding beginning farmers, alternative crops and marketing for over ten years.

For additional information, contact Wyatt Fraas at 402 254-6893, wyattf@cfra.org.

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

I Have A Dream

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

Blog for Rural America - One Year Old Today

One year ago, the Center for Rural Affairs launched the Blog for Rural America. We have had a great dialogue over the last year. Our discussion on the question "What if Rural Mattered?" prompted our most interesting discussion. I hope that as the year progresses, we have a lot more conversation like that.

One challenge for our readers, we need your help building the Blog for Rural America and raising the discussion to new heights. Toward that end, will you consider forwarding our blog address to five of your friends, family members, co-workers, etc.? Ask them to join the conversation. Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Strengthening Small Business Skills

Strengthening Your Small Business Skills in 2006

The Center for Rural Affairs invites you to kick-off the New Year by sharpening your business management skills. Whether you are currently running a small business or planning to start your own, the REAP Business Plan Basics course is for you. Learn the "must-know" essentials at a lively business planning course that starts Tuesday evening, January 17, 2006 at Southeast Community College – Beatrice campus.

The five session class is designed to give existing small business owners or potential start-up companies vital information on business planning and the essentials of Promotion/Advertising, Financial Management, Customer Relations, and Goal Setting.

The Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) and Southeast Community College are working together to offer the course. The course registration includes an annual membership to REAP and the NxLevel manual for micro-entrepreneurs which are excellent resources when the course is completed. “REAP members have ongoing access to business technical assistance services, and a micro-loan program for small businesses,” said Glennis McClure, co-director of REAP and Director of the Women’s Business Center. “These skills are essential in the ‘make or break it’ early years of a business.”

Scholarships based on income eligibility are available to cover material costs for the Business Plan Basics Course.

For more information about the Business Plan Basics course, REAP /Women’s Business Center services, call Glennis McClure (402) 645-3296 or reapwbc@diodecom.net or Janelle Moran, REAP Business Specialist at (402) 335-3675, janellemoran@diodecom.net.

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

This U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Cooperative Agreement with the Center for Rural Affairs is partially funded by the SBA. SBA’s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Center at South Platte Chamber Workshop

Center for Rural Affairs Participates in South Platte United Chamber of Commerce Workshop

Lyons, Nebraska – Kathie Starkweather, Policy Organizer for the Center for Rural Affairs, was a key presenter at the annual South Platte United Chamber of Commerce annual Holdrege workshop held today. The focus of the discussion was community and economic development, specifically key state programs that the Center for Rural Affairs was instrumental in securing during the last several sessions of the Nebraska Legislature.

“The Center for Rural Affairs has worked long and hard to help create policy that will offer fair opportunities for rural communities. Because of the Center’s efforts, we have seen some very good economic development opportunities created for rural microbusinesses in the form of tax credit and grant programs,” said Starkweather.

“The workshop provided excellent opportunity for folks to discuss how these programs could positively impact their local communities,” commented Starkweather, “People also showed a great deal of interest in the Center for Rural Affairs and learning more about what the organization does for rural America.”

Over thirty people attended the workshop held in Holdrege today. Starkweather also spoke about a new Center for Rural Affairs initiative – the National Rural Action Network.

“The Rural Action Network invites rural citizens to become part of the solution to the challenges confronting rural America. By joining the Rural Action Network they can add their voice to tens of thousands of others across the nation calling out for the kind of federal action that will create genuine economic opportunity for all rural people and a bright future for their communities.,” added Starkweather.

If you would like to have Kathie speak to your organization about the Rural Action Network as well as the Center's community and economic development work, contact her at kathies@cfra.org. We will try to accomodate every reasonable request.

For background information on the Rural Action Network see - http://www.cfra.org/

Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Taking Care of Our Own

Taking Care of Our Own: A Good Mental Health Model

Michael Holton, Center for Rural Affairs, michaellh@cfra.org

A town successfully combines education, training, and new personnel to create a rapid, comprehensive system for mental health treatment.

The past few months I have concentrated on mental health in small rural communities and the inherent danger we face in the shortage of trained help and the lack of care available. Our situation is not unique. Powell River, a coastal town of less than 20,000 in British Columbia, came up with a creative solution to their lack of mental health care in the community.

Patients needing mental health care were handled by local family practitioners. Many were transferred to other facilities miles away or forgotten completely. Local practitioners and social workers were seeing outpatients of mental health facilities, yet they were not qualified to provide treatment.

The community and the local hospital teamed up to create the Acute Short-term Assessment Program (ASAP) in 1991. Specially trained psychiatric nurses were hired through the hospital, funded by Mental Health Services. They were available to assess patients needing mental health care Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Most of their skills were consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, third edition (DSM III). Nurses were also trained, for a fraction of the cost, on basic biopsychosocial treatment models. And they studied drug and alcohol programs. The end result was uniformity in assessing mental health needs in their small rural community.

Once an assessment was complete, a referral to an area psychiatrist was made. A Triage Team consisting of the psychiatric specialist, the patient’s family physician, the assessment nurse, and sometimes the coordinator of mental health programs within the community was created.

Due to the program’s success, very few patients are seen outside ASAP. This process streamlines the patient to the appropriate care. An analysis is underway, but the main conclusion so far is that a single-entry system like this is rapid and, in most cases, correct. This is a far cry from the previous system in Powell River.

As we experience continued depopulation trends in the Midwest, it may be important to draw on this knowledge from our Canadian neighbors to help solidify a more comprehensive community-based mental health approach for our needs.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs

Values. Worth. Action.

A Better Value Added Program

by Kim Leval, Center for Rural Affairs, kimleval@qwest.net

The Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program offers an important opportunity to target funding to small- and mid-sized farms, ranches and agricultural businesses pursuing new consumer driven markets for sustainably raised agricultural products. By supplying these markets to farmers and ranchers, the VAPG Program addresses agricultural profitability, economic decline and poverty alleviation in rural areas in new ways.

The authorizing language for the program adopted a set of broad purposes for VAPG that address the basic policy objectives to be advanced by the program. Language from the 2002 Farm Bill conference report includes:

The Managers intend that the Department (of Agriculture), in administering the (VAPG) program, will seek to fund a broad diversity of projects that help increase agricultural producers' share of the food and agricultural system profit, including projects likely to increase the profitability and viability of small and medium-sized farms and ranches. The Managers intend for the Department to consider a project's potential for creating self-employment
opportunities in farming and ranching and the likelihood that the project will contribute to conserving and enhancing the quality of land, water and other natural resources.

Language from the 2003 House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Report includes:

The Committee is aware the Department (of Agriculture) will develop application and evaluation guidelines for the Value Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grant Program. The Committee expects the Department to develop ranking criteria to reward projects that help increase self-employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in farming and ranching, enhance the profitability and viability of small and medium-sized farms and ranches, and contribute to conserving and enhancing the quality of land, water and other natural resources.

Both the Farm Bill and subsequent appropriation bills clearly intended that the VAPG Program have broader goals than to increase value-added products and markets. The VAPG Program was intended to be an integral part of rural development policy by funding projects that both enhanced farm and ranch incomes and increased self-employment opportunities in rural areas. As such, it was intended to go beyond other farm income support programs – the VAPG Program was anticipated to be part of an asset- and wealth-building strategy of American rural development policy.

Debate will begin on the next Farm Bill in early 2006. The 2007 Farm Bill is a venue through which the VAPG will be reauthorized, the program evaluated and changes made. The VAPG program can better serve small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers, thus better addressing the economic forces affecting rural America. We recommend the following policy changes to better the program for small and mid-sized farmers, ranchers and for rural communities.

A. Recommendations for Congress

1. 2007 Farm Bill
► Congress must develop authorizing language placing a high priority for use of the VAPG program grant funds on proposals that are most likely to increase the profitability and viability of small- and medium-sized farms and ranches.
► Create a set-aside of no less than 10 percent but up to 15 percent of VAPG program funding for projects concerning beginning farmers and ranchers.
2. Budget Legislation
► Fully fund the VAPG program at its authorized level of $40 million
► Reinstate the mandatory budget status for the VAPG program.

B. Top Recommendations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture

► Develop a less complicated and more accessible application process.
► Eliminate the “project cost per producer” criteria from the application process. This feature shifts points to projects with high numbers of producers and disadvantages smaller scale projects.
►Include farmers and other end-users, including organizations representing sustainable agriculture issues and concerns, in the review and ranking of VAPG program proposals

C. Recommendations for the Administrative Branch

►Establish a presidential initiative within the VAPG program that specifically targets proposal evaluation points to proposals that increase income and self employment opportunities in farming and ranching and that benefit the local economy through social and environmental improvements to the area.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

What if Rural Mattered? - Part II

What if Rural Mattered? - Part II

The response to the question that I posed is a previous post (actually, a small series of posts)regarding what rural America would look like if rural mattered - What If Rural Mattered? - http://cfra.blogspot.com/2006/01/what-if-rural-mattered.html#comments - created such quality dialogue that I am compelled to follow-up.

One theme that ran throughout that discussion was, "...of course rural America matters, the question should be, how to we make sure rural America matters as much as it should..."

OK then, that is the question, how do we ensure that Rural Matters - not more, nor less than we deserve? What needs to change to create that reality and how do we make that change happen?

What needs to change to ensure that Rural Matters?

How do we make that change happen?

For the sake of reminder, I am including the original post here as well. Please feel free to post any ideas that you want. Legislation is important, but certainly not the only thing that needs to change - so do not limit yourself. And do not worry if you think you ideas might differ than mine, that is the whole point of this dialogue, to exchange ideas and challenge each other to think as broadly as possible about how to achieve our vision of the future of rural America.

What if Rural Mattered?

The question itself is presumptuous. And it depends on ones point of view, I guess. In pop culture, in New York City and Los Angeles, and on Wall Street, not many concern themselves with rural people. In Washington, the same is often true.

So, what if rural mattered? Would mega farms be allowed to use unlimited farm payments to drive beginning farmers and smaller operations out of business? Would rural development always be the last farm bill programs funded and the first cut? Would rural poverty and economic hardship be as enduring and persistent as they are now?

If you read what I have written in these pages, you know what I think. But what do you think? What is the value of rural America? What makes it worth fighting for? What would it look like, if rural mattered – not more than we deserve, not less – but if we just truly mattered?

Send me an e-mail, write me a letter or post a comment here - because I want to know, we all need to know, what it would look like if rural mattered.

John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Box 136
Lyons, NE 68038
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

What if Rural Mattered?

What if Rural Mattered?

The question itself is presumptuous. And it depends on ones point of view, I guess. In pop culture, in New York City and Los Angeles, and on Wall Street, not many concern themselves with rural people. In Washington, the same is often true.

So, what if rural mattered? Would mega farms be allowed to use unlimited farm payments to drive beginning farmers and smaller operations out of business? Would rural development always be the last farm bill programs funded and the first cut? Would rural poverty and economic hardship be as enduring and persistent as they are now?

If you read what I have written in these pages, you know what I think. But what do you think? What is the value of rural America? What makes it worth fighting for? What would it look like, if rural mattered – not more than we deserve, not less – but if we just truly mattered?

Send me an e-mail, write me a letter or post a comment here - because I want to know, we all need to know, what it would look like if rural mattered.

John Crabtree
Center for Rural Affairs
Box 136
Lyons, NE 68038
johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Protect Farmers Legal Rights

- from our friend Becky Ceartas at RAFI-USA, becky@rafiusa.org

Calls Needed to Protect Farmers Legal Rights!

You can reach your Senator by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask to speak to the Senator’s agriculture staff person. If you get voice mail just leave a message.

Message: “I am calling to ask Senator ____to cosponsor Senate Bill 2131 that would protect the rights of farmers and keep arbitration truly voluntary in livestock and poultry contracts. Will Senator _____ cosponsor S. 2131?

If the staff person needs more information, please have him/her call Steve Etka, who works with the Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform. His number is 703-519-7772.

********
The Problem: Mandatory Arbitration Clauses

Many farmers and growers are forced to sign mandatory arbitration clauses, as part of a take-it-or-leave-it, non-negotiable contract with a large, vertically integrated processing firm. By signing a binding mandatory arbitration clause a farmer is signing away his/her constitutional right to a trial by jury. This is a problem for a farmer because -
1. Arbitration can be very expensive and beyond the means of most farmers. A grower in Texas was recently billed over $20,000 for her portion of the initial costs, with payment due before the arbitration process could begin. In comparison, court filing fees run around $200.
It is more difficult for a farmer to prove his/her case in arbitration since basic legal processes such as discovery are waived
2. Arbitration is governed by procedures and rules chosen by the company that wrote the contract. Since a farmer signs a contract before any dispute arises, it allows the companies to use practices that are abusive without fear of the farmer bringing them to court or having a record of their wrong doings.

The Solution: The Fair Contracts for Growers Act

The Fair Contracts for Growers Act (S. 2131), sponsored by Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Feingold (D-WI), provides for greater fairness in livestock and poultry contracts. The bill ensures that the decision to arbitrate is truly voluntary and that farmers are not coerced into waiving their rights. It specifies that if a livestock or poultry contract provides for the use of arbitration to resolve disputes, arbitration may be used to settle a dispute only if, after the dispute arises, both parties agree in writing to use arbitration.

A bill similar to S. 2131 that provided voluntary arbitration in contracts between car dealers and car manufactures passed as part of a larger appropriations package and is now law. Arbitration can be a useful tool if it is a mutually agreed upon method of settling a dispute. But the law should not permit large companies to use arbitration to deny family farmers’ access to justice. Don’t farmers have as much right to a fair contract as the Jaguar dealer?

Please let me know the results of your calls - John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
and as always, post any questions or comments here.

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Leadership Knox County Style

Knox County, Nebraska - Leadership Knox County Style

Michael Holton, Center for Rural Affairs, michaellh@cfra.org

A new two-phase community development project will result in a leadership academy.

Experienced community development workers know there are two constants in all communities. First, struggling communities lack leadership. Communities faring better with projects and programs have progressive and diverse leadership. Secondly, communities are largely unaware of assets they can draw upon.

The Center has joined the Home Town Competitiveness (HTC) program to offer community development to Nebraska communities. The “Knox County Leadership Initiative” is a two-phase process taking place this winter in which all nine communities in Knox County will host and address the asset question. Positive changes and attributes are present in every community, and letting them be aware of each other’s assets makes a stronger base from which to draw leadership.

The two types of assets we ask each community to address are tangible and intangible. Tangible assets are easier to define. We asked them to look at transportation, technology, arts and culture, enterprise, land, natural resources, housing, parks, recreation, general initiatives, health, schools, and churches. The intangible assets are much tougher but still need to be identified. These include new attitudes, energy, relationships within the community, and deeper leadership ability.

The second phase of the Knox County leadership initiative involves using neutral, trained resource providers to go into each community and assess weaknesses and needs. These assessments are not new, but developments have fine-tuned the process to give it more meaning.

One of those tools is being touted as the Wyoming model. Under the guidance of Mary Randolph, Executive Director of the Wyoming Rural Development Council, a relatively easy community assessment tool has been developed to explore the needs of rural communities.

In a clearly defined process, including listening sessions, three major questions are looked at:
· What are the major problems and challenges in your community?
· What are the major strengths and assets of your community?
· What projects would you like to see accomplished in your community in the next 2, 5, 10, and 20 years?

What makes the Knox County Leadership Initiative a little different than what others are doing is that we are using the asset mapping strategy to look at each community, and then we are combining the information with the assessment model to complete an analysis of Knox County. The result will be creation of a leadership academy to bring together Knox County leaders to guide them into the 21st century.

post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Farmers, Ranchers - Thinking of Retiring?

Farmers and Ranchers, are you thinking of retiring?

Mike Heavrin, Center for Rural Affairs, mikeh@cfra.org

In an effort to keep family farms and ranches in the hands of family farmers and ranchers, the Center is updating our database of landowners who are thinking about retirement in the next few years – landowners who are interested in seeing the countryside dotted with individual families engaged in agriculture.

Please – if you are going to retire in the next few years and are willing to assist beginning farmers and ranchers in getting started, contact the Land Link program at the Center. Many of the beginning farmers and ranchers in this project are willing to work on your farm or ranch with the understanding that they might someday be able to own and operate the land you’ve cared for so diligently.

The Center will use the database for only one purpose – to provide land-link information to beginning farmers and ranchers. Periodically, the Center will also provide you, the landowner, with names and contact information of persons wishing to make farming or ranching their way of life. Our hope is that this information will result in career relationships being developed between retiring landowners and beginning farmers and ranchers.

If you are a landowner who will probably retire in the next few years and are willing to help a new family get started in farming or ranching, please consider sending the following information for the Land Link data base: name, address, phone, email, number of acres in your operation, year (or range of years) you are hoping to retire, major crops and/or livestock in your operation.

Please return this information to Mike Heavrin, mikeh@cfra.org or by mail:
Center for Rural Affairs
PO Box 136
Lyons NE 68038.

If you have questions, call our Lyons office, 402.687.2100 and ask for Michael Holton or Mike Heavrin, or call 402.254.6893 in Hartington and ask for Wyatt or Martin.

or post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.

Rural Action Network

Building a National Network for Action

Kathie Starkweather, Center for Rural Affairs, kathies@cfra.org

Organizing rural people across the country is the focus of a new effort the Center and others are spearheading to strengthen all of rural America

You have made a difference in our fight for Rural America, and we thank you. However, greater numbers of people focused on the same issue together can make an even bigger difference. The Center for Rural Affairs is in the beginning phases of creating a vehicle for change: the National Rural Action Network.

We need federal policy that creates a fair opportunity for rural people. Rural areas are falling farther behind metropolitan areas in all economic indicators, and yet national policymakers have not responded with rural policies that create genuine opportunity for rural people.

The need for a well-organized constituency for rural opportunity is obvious. The Center for Rural Affairs, along with some key partners, plans on creating such a constituency that will impact policy decisions.

This network for action will allow thousands of people throughout the country to speak out on the need to create public policies that support a better rural future. Over the next few months we will invite and create an Advisory Committee.

The National Rural Action Network is an aggressive idea whose time has come. As we move forward, look for updates in our newsletter. We are very excited about this concept and expect it to have a major impact for Rural America. Stay tuned.

You can becom a part of the Rural Action Network by signing up at www.cfra.org.

for more information about the Rural Action Network contact kathies@cfra.org or post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org

Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.