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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Posts Tagged ‘Center for Rural Affairs’

Standing Up for Rural Postal Delivery


By Marie Powell, mariep@cfra.org,Center for Rural AffairsPost offices are crucial anywhere, but especially crucial in rural areas that depend on the postal service to stay connected through news delivery, services crucial to businesses, and, in some communities, a link to prescription drugs and other services.The mail service is a national treasure that has been in operation for 240 years. Every day, the Postal Service provides affordable, universal mail service to all—without using taxpayer ... Full Story

Rural support for denying Keystone

Center for Rural Affairs applauds Denial of Pipeline Construction Controversial Keystone XL Pipeline route rejected Lyons, NE - Americans concerned about the proposed route of the Keystone XL Pipeline received welcome news Wednesday when the Obama administration announced the rejection of a special U.S. State Department permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. “We applaud President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton for making a common sense decision that protects both Nebraska and the entire ... Full Story

Land Contract Guarantee Program Launched Nationwide

Land Contract Guarantee Program Launched Nationwide Center for Rural Affairs Offers Farm Bill Help Line to Assist Producers Lyons, NE - The Farm Service Agency recently announced that the Land Contract Guarantee Program is now available nationwide. The Land Contract Guarantee Program provides federal loan guarantees to retiring farmers and landowners who self-finance the sale of their land to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. “With land values continuing to escalate, ... Full Story

Program Helps Create Rural Jobs

Program Helps Create Rural Jobs

Proven Program Helps Create Rural Jobs By Steph Larsen, stephl@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs In two short years the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP), administered through USDA, has proven to be a solid job creator in rural America. The program provides loan capital and technical assistance grants to small business development organizations to make loans and provide support to startup and existing rural businesses. RMAP loan funds can be used to purchase real estate and ... Full Story

Less than one month to apply for the Conservation

Center for Rural Affairs Offers Farm Bill Help Line to Assist Producers Lyons, NE - USDA's National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently announced that the deadline for producer applications for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) will be January 13, 2012. While CSP is a continuous sign-up program and producers can apply to enroll at any time of the year, NRCS applies a cut-off date for applications to be considered during a particular fiscal year.  Once the cut-off date is ... Full Story

Wind Over Coal

Wind Over Coal

By Tom Means,  Center for Rural Affairs Wind power is the future. It’s the most cost-effective source of renewable energy, and is starting to undercut fossil fuels. Power from conventional coal costs $68 per megawatt-hour, while wind power in high resource areas cost $65 per megawatt-hour. Supplies of coal and oil dwindle each day, but there will always be wind. And since wind will always be there, it isn’t subject to the type of supply-side market fluctuations that exist for fossil ... Full Story

Bookend Generations in Rural America

Bookend Generations in Rural America

                  By John Crabtree johnc@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs Many rural American communities find themselves caught between bookend generations - under 20 and over 65 - that require more resources in areas such as health care and education. This long-term demographic trend challenges all of rural America, especially the Midwest and Great Plains. According to a Center for Rural Affairs report  examining data from the 2010 Census, the ... Full Story

Farm Bill Proposal deserved a Quick Death


Farm Bill Proposal deserved a Quick Death


        By John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs Over the last month, the leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees pressed to finish a farm bill proposal that would cut 23 billion dollars over the next decade out of the USDA budget, through the Congressional Super Committee deficit reduction process, which must conclude by November 23rd.

Fortunately, the Ag Committee proposal was never forthcoming. Rural America can breathe a ... Full Story

Rural America Shortchanged

Rural America Shortchanged

By Chuck Hassebrook chuckh@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs   The decisions we make in this time of economic and budget crisis - about what is cut and what is cast off – define who we are as a nation and shape our future. Policy makers in Washington are about to make cuts in farm and rural spending. The question is how they will cut and whether their choices reflect the values of rural America and the interests of most rural Americans. Congress must choose whether to put real, ... Full Story

Limit Direct Payments in 2012 Farm Bill

  By Brian Depew briand@cfra.org Center for Rural Affairs With Congress hammering out budget cutting legislation and preparing to take up the 2012 farm bill, the next two years emerge as a crucial time for making commonsense cuts to agriculture spending. For federal farm programs, that means placing hard caps on payments made to the nation’s largest farms, subsidies those operations use to drive their smaller neighbors out of business. First, Congress should place a hard limit of $40,000 ... Full Story