Welcome to 2022! A year in which the future of rural communities promises to be a topic of national attention. In large part that is because this is (yet another) election year. One in which both sides are talking a lot about rural voters -- Republicans in giddy terms because they seem to have a lock on them, and Democrats in near desperation about their unpopularity in rural areas.  But, something else is going on too.  The twin shocks of technology and Covid are restructuring our economy in ways that -- just maybe -- are finally working in favor of rural America. In this new environment, rural America's space, affordability, cleaner environment, and advantages for child-raising, are making rural destinations look like they could be job creators once again.  Is this then the beginning of a new normal?  Maybe -- but not necessarily. The truth is: creating that new normal is still going to demand a lot of investment - in technology, education, health, environmental clean-up, and business innovation. Investment, not campaign slogans, are needed to turn today's promise into tomorrow's prosperity.  And so, rural voters, this election year is a great time to be asking the politicians hard questions. To help frame that challenge, we offer this month our view of the kind of rural economic vision that Democrats need to offer.  (In coming issues, we will look at the challenge for Republicans (and whether their lock on the rural vote is as strong as they think). We also offer this month a look at what the Biden administration is in fact doing right now to help rural communities fight back against Big Ag's unfair market manipulation. (Hint: if it works, it could be a game-changer for small farmers.) And last, a blunt assessment of the escalating cost of climate disruption affecting 40% of Americans.  So read on!

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Rural Vision Needed

The Democratic Party needs a comprehensive new vision for rural communities. But what should it include? For decades, it has endorsed proposals for a better deal for rural communities. In fact, as long ago as 1988 the Democrats’ election campaign platform said, “all Americans…benefit when food and fiber are produced not by a few large corporations …but by hundreds of thousands of family farmers obtaining a fair price for their product.” Read More

Time to Join Forces on Climate Disruption

Over 40 percent of Americans live in counties hit the hardest by climate disasters in 2021. Another big year and another big bill for the nation to pay for it all. Not only are these climate catastrophes – flood, fire, drought, hurricanes, tornadoes – killing people and destroying communities, but they are increasingly costly. Tax payers have had to come up with dramatically more money to deal with all this disruption.  Read More

White House to Help Small Meat Farmers and Processors

The White House just announced a $1 billion action plan to improve fairness and competition in the meat industry. The core message is that the nation needs to break the stranglehold of a few Big Ag companies on how meat and poultry get from farm to table. That would be good both for consumers (lower grocery store prices) and farmers (higher cattle prices). (See two White House Ag Plan links below). Read More

A new era begins (Cardinal News, Jan. 12, 2022, by Markus Schmidt) The Virginia General Assembly reconvenes this week for its new session, with Republicans set to hold all three statewide offices and the majority in the House of Delegates.This  piece lists all of the legislation being proposed from (Republican naturally) delegates for the new session.  What is stunning (but not surprising) is the near total lack of ideas that would make a real economic difference to rural communities.  

Virginia’s legislative session will test GOP’s ability to roll back Democrats’ gains (Washington Post, Jan. 11) Here's another overview of the shifted playing field in Richmond on this first day of the 2022 General Assembly. 

More than 40 percent of Americans live in counties hit by climate disasters in 2021 (Washington Post, January 5, 2022) Without dramatic action to curb carbon emissions and adapt to unavoidable change, experts say the damage wrought by rising temperatures will only get worse.

Six economic lessons for Southwest and Southside (Cardinal News, December 27, 2021, by Dwayne Yancey) The first of 3-part series that is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of Rural Virginia.

Fast-forward to 2031: Older residents, fewer school kids, more remote workers It’s springtime, 2031. The dogwoods and redbuds are as spectacular as anyone can remember, and the machinery for preparing an annual county budget is churning out the numbers. 

Record Beef Prices, but Ranchers Aren’t Cashing In (New York Times, Dec. 27, 2021, By Peter S. Goodman and Erin Schaff) “You’re feeding America and going broke doing it”: After years of consolidation, four companies dominate the meatpacking industry, while many ranchers are barely hanging on.

Research: Migration Key to Rural Economic Development (The Daily Yonder, Dec. 21, 2021, by Steven Deller, Matt Kures and Tessa Conroy) The days of small towns landing a big company are in the past. Amazon didn’t look at Yuba, Wisconsin, or Baxley, Georgia, for its newest headquarters. 

Donald Trump told his supporters he got a coronavirus booster shot. They booed him. (Washington Post, Dec. 21, 2021) The former president was doing a live interview with conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly. If anything this should remind us of the importance of getting vaccines and booster shots that even Donald Trump has gotten and believes is good policy.

Northam: 'I made rural Virginia a priority' (Cardinal News, Dec. 14, 2021, by Markus Schmidt) Outgoing governor reflects on his often turbulent tenure, warns Youngkin to not undo the commonwealth’s transition to clean energy. As usual, Cardinal News has a great summary of Northam’s accomplishments.

A mega-dairy is transforming Arizona’s aquifer and farming lifestyles (High Country News, Aug. 1, 2021 by Debbie Weingarten and Tony Davis) “Minnesota’s Riverview Dairy has deep pockets and long straws.” here is an article about how Big Ag is now getting into dairy, and doing the same thing it did to Ag.  Farmers in Minnesota and Arizona are being squeezed out.  It notes that when prices are low, Big Ag buys up dairy farms.  In the meantime it so overuses resources like water that neighbors are left literally dry.  Interestingly, these problems are not especially new -- I even found something about it in the Democrats 1988 campaign platform!  But it has stayed just at the level of complaining.  We haven't seriously focused on solutions.  If the Dems want to be taken seriously in rural areas, it would be good to get started on realistic solutions.  

Toward a World Without Roadkill: Appalachians Make the Case for Wildlife Crossings (Inthesetimes.com, Apr. 15, 2021, by Frances Figart) In Appalachia, highways fracture the habitat of bears, elk, deer and other wildlife. Locals are pushing to make roads safer for animals and drivers.

Why Are Rural Americans Dying Twice as Fast from Covid-19? (The Daily Yonder, by Liz Carey and Tim Marema) The pandemic death rate in rural America is two times higher than the metropolitan rate, primarily because rural Americans have been slower to get