Rural Affairs
Rural Groups Push Against Proposed Cuts To USDA Spending
Farm and rural advocacy groups say cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would harm rural communities, at a time when many of them need an infusion of cash. In what’s being called a “skinny budget” because it sets an outline and contains scant details, Trump’s proposal calls for…
Study: Agriculture Sector Should Ramp Up Response To Climate Change
The agriculture sector needs to ramp up its response to climate change, especially in the Midwest, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at the University of Maryland used climate projections and historical trends in agricultural productivity to predict how changes in temperature and rainfall will…
Doctors Caught In Middle As Travel Ban Intersects With Rural Recruitment
Dr. Saeedeh Salmanzadeh became a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony in October 2015. When the presiding official asked if any of the new citizens wanted to speak, she was one of the first to raise her hand. By then Salmanzadeh had spent 15 years in America, after leaving her home in Iran where she…
With Attorney Shortage, Rural Areas In Search Of Lawyers
Fewer young attorneys are choosing to set up shop in small towns and take over for retiring professionals. Just like the shortages of doctors, nurses, dentists, even farmers, many rural areas are seeing a shortage of young lawyers. “Ten counties in Nebraska have no lawyers at all,” says Lyle Koenig, an attorney from West Point,…
A Battle Over Bringing Local Renewables To Rural Electric Co-ops
In the 1930s, rural electric cooperatives brought electricity to the country’s most far-flung communities, transforming rural economies. In Western Colorado, one of these co-ops is again trying to spur economic development, partly by generating more of their electricity locally from renewable resources, like water in irrigation ditches and the sun. Local leaders say that’ll be…