Byway of Art Receives Grant

June 26, 2014 Leave a comment


Today, the Center for Rural Affairs announced that the organization will receive one of 55 grants awarded by ArtPlace America in 2014 to support creative placemaking across the country.  The $200,000 grant will support the cooperative creation of a public artwork in each of four neighboring towns, guidance from an established visiting artist, and celebration of the completed works with a tour in Autumn of 2015.

“Investing in and supporting the arts have a profound impact on the social, physical, and economic futures of communities. Projects like these demonstrate how imaginative and committed people are when it comes to enhancing their communities with creative interventions and thoughtful practices.” ArtPlace Executive Director Jamie L. Bennett.


According to Adele Phillips with the Center for Rural Affairs, the 2014 ArtPlace awardees represent 4% of the 1,270 letters of inquiry ArtPlace received this year. This year, 31% of ArtPlace’s grants will go to projects working in rural communities, which compares with 17% last year.


“This is an unprecedented opportunity for the Center for Rural Affairs, and we are delighted to share this exciting news,” said Phillips. “Deploying the arts can transform communities, and receiving such generous support from ArtPlace validates both our past work and future vision.”


We are particularly proud to be part of the upswing in awards for art projects in rural and small town America. And we commend ArtPlace America for recognizing the potential for community art initiatives in so many rural places across the nation this year.


Jan Cline-Zimmerman, proprietor of Creative Connection Studio Gallery in Oakland, Nebraska, is excited to see the arts move forward in these small towns. “I have dedicated over 30 years to teaching students of all ages in the fine arts. This funding will allow many more opportunities to expand creativity within the region and encourage communication across multiple generations and cultures.”


Next steps in project implementation will include an Artist’s Talk on public art, and invitations to community members to join in on this exciting opportunity. The Center for Rural Affairs welcomes the citizens of Lyons, Decatur, Macy and Oakland, Nebraska, to celebrate the news of this exciting opportunity.


About ArtPlace America

ArtPlace America (ArtPlace) advances the field of creative placemaking, in which art and culture plays an explicit and central role in shaping communities’ social, physical, and economic futures. To date, ArtPlace has awarded $56.8 million through 189 grants to projects serving 122 communities across 42 states and the District of Columbia.


ArtPlace is a collaboration among the Barr Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William Penn Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, The Surdna Foundation, and two anonymous donors.


ArtPlace seeks advice and counsel from its close working relationships with the following federal agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts, the US Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education, and Transportation, along with leadership from the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council.


ArtPlace has additional partnership from six major financial institutions: Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley.The deadline for submission for a 2015 grant application will be announced later this year. For more information or to join ArtPlace’s mailing list, visit www.artplaceamerica.org.


For additional information about ArtPlace contact: Bow Bridge Communications, LLC, New York City, Libby Mark, Managing Principal, 917- 968-5567, info@bow-bridge.com.

 

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Women Caring for Land Workshop

June 11, 2014 Leave a comment


Lyons, NE – Women who own or manage farm or ranch land in Northeast Nebraska and Southeast South Dakota are invited to participate in a  Women Caring for the Land discussion about soil health, farm conservation options, and available resources. The free program will take place on Friday, June 13 at the Library Room in the Education Building of Ponca State Park, 8090 Spur 26 E, Ponca, NE.


“Women landowners now own or co-own approximately half of Midwest and Great Plains farm and ranch land, and often want to do more to conserve their land and resources. However, many are unsure exactly how to reach their conservation goals and what resources are available to help them. Women Caring for the Land can help,” said Virginia Meyer, with the Center for Rural Affairs.


According to Meyer, Women Caring for the Land offers a peer-to-peer, informal discussion format to allow women landowners to talk about their individual land stewardship goals, facilitated by women conservation experts who can share resources available such as USDA cost-share programs, state loans, and other tools.


The meeting will begin with registration and resource sharing at 8:30 a.m.  A free lunch will be provided, and during an afternoon field tour participants will travel to a nearby location to watch a demonstration of soil testing. The tests will measure for soil structure and stability and infiltration.


Meyer suggests participants wear appropriate clothing and footwear/attire as walking a short distance will be required for the field tour.  The group will return to the Education Building for dessert and wrap-up, with the meeting ending by 3 p.m.


Maintaining healthy soil is the key to productivity and environmental health for farmland. Women landowners who attend this meeting will learn to assess and improve the health of their soils through cover crops, no-till and strip-till, and other conservation practices.


Meyer also pointed out that all interested women are welcome to these discussions, including owners, operators and inheritors of farmland, regardless of their degree of knowledge regarding conservation.


Event Location Details:

Friday, June 13, 2014

8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Library Room in the Education Building of Ponca State Park

8090 Spur 26 E, Ponca, NE.


To ensure enough food is provided, interested participants should  RSVP by June 10th to Virginia Meyer at the Center for Rural Affairs – (402) 687-2100 or virginiam@cfra.org. For more information about this program, visitwww.womencaringfortheland.org or call 641-430-2540.


This session of Women Caring for the Land is sponsored by the Center for Rural Affairs in partnership with the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The series is funded by a grant from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant Program.

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REAP Goes to Washington

May 23, 2014 Leave a comment


Lyons, NE – The Center for Rural Affairs’ Rural Enterprise Assistance Project-REAP met in Washington, D.C., this last week during National Small Business Week, an annual event, proclaimed by the President, to recognize and honor the contributions small businesses make to our economy and communities. 

REAP is part of “The Friends of the SBA Microloan Program” a network of seasoned intermediary lenders committed to supporting a strong and effective Microloan Program at the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Friends network provides a venue for intermediary lenders to discuss program operations, share success stories, challenges and best practices. The primary mission of the Friends network is advocacy and participating intermediaries work to keep policy makers in Washington updated on how SBA resources are being used to finance, support and grow small businesses and create jobs in urban and rural communities across the country.  Some of these programs, including REAP, were the original programs chosen to run a pilot microlending program in the U.S. in 1991.

While in Washington D.C. the group had an opportunity to share intermediary lender and small business success stories with Congressional staff at the briefing organized with the House Small Business Committee as well as key staff with the Small Business Administration.  Each program made appointments with elected officials and staff to discuss the importance of small business and alternative lending sources. 

“It’s always good to connect with folks in D.C. and tell the stories of our businesses, share our successes as a program and needed changes to stay current with the economy and the changing needs of our customers,” stated Dena Beck, Senior Project Leader and Loan Specialist with REAP.  “This year was special with the inclusion of a SBA Microloan recipient, Nebraska small business and REAP/Rural Investment Corp-RIC board member Connie Harvey, owner of Efficiency Counts in Hasting, NE.  Our elected officials and SBA program staff often hear from us working out in the field, but when a business talks to them about their journey, struggles and successes, it makes it very real for them.”

According to Harvey, “I gleaned a lot about how advocating in Washington works… and I was really impressed with the caliber of REAP and the other intermediaries that came from all over the United States.  I felt honored and humbled to be given such an opportunity to participate in this process.  One thing that was emphasized by the leadership of the SBA, and demonstrated while talking individually with representatives, is that real-life stories are the most effective means of getting our points across.”

Beck added, “ I was astonished by the statistic of 8,000 small and micro business owner credit applications declined each business day according to the Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew, June 10, 2013.” 

For pictures of the group visit:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfra/sets/72157644369613318/ (Click on individual pictures for descriptions and captions. )
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfra/14217071856/in/set-72157644369613318
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfra/14053404358/in/set-72157644369613318

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Women Farmers and Ranchers

May 6, 2014 Leave a comment


By Virginia Meyer, virginiam@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs
Some of the most inspiring people I’ve met while working at the Center for Rural Affairs are women farmers and ranchers. They are an amazing and supportive group, willing to offer advice and help each other out.

That’s why the Center for Rural Affairs is working with the Women Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) to create learning opportunities for women who want to gain hands on experience or advice from established and successful women farmers and ranchers. Learning opportunities for women who are looking to get their hands dirty and learn the real nitty-gritty of farming and ranching are often limited and we need both established women farmers and those just getting started to make this program work.

We have opportunities for Aspiring Women Farmers who can participate in on-farm mentorships, working closely with successful women farmers to learn the ropes. Beginning Women Farmers can learn from off-farm mentorships while they work at their own farms. Experienced Women Farmers can serve as on and off farm mentors for our aspiring and beginning women farmers.

Several of those opportunities are soon approaching. A Farm Business Financing workshop on May 10 in Nebraska City, NE will help women farmers and ranchers design a business plan and access financing for their agricultural operations.

Later in June, Ashland and Milford will host additional workshops on selling at farmers markets and through a CSA.

Women in agriculture, call us and get involved!

For additional information about all available mentorship opportunities, contact Virginia Meyer virginiam@cfra.org, 402.687-2103 ext. 1014 or visit http://www.cfra.org/women_farmers.

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Medicaid Expansion Life and Death Issue

April 29, 2014 Leave a comment


By Jon Bailey, jonb@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs
Charlene Dill was a 33 year old mother of three in Orlando, Florida. She worked three jobs to support her family. She had a treatable heart condition. Charlene also fell into the “coverage gap” – she made too much money (a whole $9,000 per year) to qualify for Medicaid in Florida, too little to qualify for a subsidy to purchase insurance on the new health insurance marketplaces, and none of her jobs provided health insurance. She was uninsured. Florida decided not to expand their Medicaid program as allowed under the Affordable Care Act to cover low-income working people like Ms. Dill. On March 21, while working one of her jobs, she collapsed and died on a stranger’s floor from the preventable condition for which she could not get treatment.

Let us pray there are no Charlene Dills that suffer the same fate in Nebraska. But there likely are. Research shows that there will be at least 500 preventable deaths in Nebraska due to the Legislature’s failure to expand Medicaid to our low-income working friends and neighbors.

State Senators Bloomfield, Brasch, Coash, Garrett, Janssen, Kintner, Larson, McCoy, Murante, Scheer, Schilz, Seiler, Smith and Watermeier opposed attempts in both the 2013 and 2014 Legislature to expand Medicaid to those in the “coverage gap.” They would not even allow a vote to provide health insurance coverage for these working adults. They may all be back serving in the Legislature in 2015. Let’s hope they can figure out this is a life and death issue, not a political game.

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Insurance Premiums in Iowa and Nebraska Border Counties

April 21, 2014 Leave a comment


Lyons, Nebraska – Today, the Center for Rural Affairs released a new report examining how Nebraska’s decision not to participate in the Medicaid expansion program as provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has contributed to higher health insurance premiums compared to Iowa.“Nebraska’s decision not to expand Medicaid as allowed under the ACA has changed its health insurance marketplace pool,” said Jon Bailey, Director of the Rural Public Policy Program at the Center for Rural Affairs and author of the report. “That changed pool has resulted in higher health insurance premiums for most Nebraskans.”

The decision has also left many lower-income Nebraskans in a “coverage gap” – making too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to qualify for tax credits in the new health care insurance marketplace. Because of the health insurance they buy in the individual market, lower- and middle-class Nebraskans may suffer some of the greatest consequences of this decision, Bailey explained.

According to Bailey, in three of the four health plan levels (all except the Platinum level), Nebraskans in border counties have higher health insurance premiums than Iowans just across the border. In general, premium cost differences between the two states increase as consumers get older, and premium cost variations are greater for the lower level (Bronze and Silver) health plans. When age and health plan level are combined, the annual cost difference can be significant. For example, a hypothetical 60 year old Nebraska couple would pay nearly $500 more annually for a Bronze plan.

Read or download a full copy of the report at: http://files.cfra.org/pdf/Tale-of-Two-States.pdf

The report examines the ten Nebraska counties and six Iowa counties along the Missouri River that form the border between the states. These bordering counties form the core of two major metropolitan areas – Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. Outside of the metropolitan areas these counties are rural, made up of small towns and farms. These border counties share common backgrounds and history, have common economic environments, demographics, and have numerous other similarities.

“The cost variations for Bronze and Silver plans are important because those are the plans most people are purchasing on the health insurance marketplace, particularly lower- and middle-income consumers, continued Bailey. “The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that 83 percent select a Bronze or Silver plan in the federal-facilitated health insurance marketplace.”

“Most border county Nebraskans, therefore, are selecting plans with the greatest cost variations compared to Iowa border county residents,” Bailey concluded.

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Opportunities and Challenges in Ag Census

April 16, 2014 Leave a comment


By Traci Bruckner, tracib@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs
USDA’s Census of Agriculture provides statistical information that should help the agency respond to opportunities in American agriculture, such as the 14,000 more farms claiming farming as their primary occupation than there were in 2007.

However, in the size categories from 50 to 999 acres nearly 56,000 fewer farms were reported nationally.
And there was a net loss of over 96,000 farms in the 35-54 age group categories.

Mid-size and middle-age farmers make an essential contribution to strong rural communities. They support rural businesses and put kids in our rural schools – the source of future generations of farmers and ranchers who will live in rural and small town America.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack often suggests that we must not lose our rural and small town way of life. He also correctly points out that large farms are doing well, but farms in the middle are eroding.

Moreover, Secretary Vilsack knows that the consolidation of agriculture and the loss of mid-scale farms are not inevitable. Federal policy – commodity and crop insurance policy specifically – play a crucial role.

The 2014 Farm Bill put the ball in the Administration’s court. They have a second chance to make real what President Obama pledged in the rural policy platform of his 2008 Presidential election. He promised to close loopholes that allow mega-farms to game farm programs and ensure payments support active farmers who work the land.

Action, more than prophesy, will build rural America’s future.

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Getting a Right Start for the Next Generation of Farmers

April 14, 2014 Leave a comment


Lyons, Nebraska – Today, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the availability of $19 million in funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) – a program that provides competitive grants to community organizations, farm and ranch groups, academic institutions, and extension, to provide education, outreach, training and technical assistance to beginning farmers, ranchers and foresters.

“USDA is committed to the next generation of America’s farmers and ranchers because they represent the future of agriculture and are the backbone of our rural economy. As the average age of farmers continues to rise, we have no time to lose in getting more new farmers and ranchers established,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Reauthorizing and expanding the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program is one of the many resources the 2014 Farm Bill gave us to build America’s agricultural future. Through this program, we can build a diverse next generation of farmers and ranchers.”

According to Traci Bruckner of the Center for Rural Affairs, the BFRDP grant program is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which awards the grants through a competitive review process to organizations and institutions conducting programs to help beginning farmers, ranchers and foresters. Applications for the funding rounds announced today are due June 12, 2014.

“BFRDP has been a highly successful initiative, making the application and award process all the more competitive,” said Bruckner. “And perhaps more importantly the programs funded through this initiative have had a real impact across rural and small town America.”

The presence of the education, outreach, training and technical assistance programs funded by BFRDP is one of the reasons we saw an increase in young, beginning farmers and ranchers in Nebraska in the recent Census of Agriculture, Bruckner added. And this is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to training the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

Bruckner explained further that, in Nebraska, nearly 1,000 more farmers claim farming or ranching as their primary occupation than in the last census. For “years on present farm,” Nebraska grew in every category, from 2 years or less to 10 years or more. In particular, farmer and rancher numbers grew in lower age brackets. The under 25 years category grew by 18%; those aged 25 to 34 grew by 13% (up nationally as well), and farmers aged 35 to 44 grew by 10%.

“There are growing opportunities in farming and ranching across rural and small town America, and we see, first-hand, the increasing desire among a new generation of prospective farmers and ranchers to get their start,” Bruckner concluded. “The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program provides resources to initiatives on the ground that can help those beginners overcome the unique challenges they face and realize their full potential.”

For more information on eligibility of organizations and institutions, and how to apply, go to:
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/beginningfarmersandranchers.cfm

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Clearing the Regulatory Waters

April 9, 2014 Leave a comment


By John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org, Center for Rural Affairs
After a decade of uncertainty over Clean Water Act jurisdiction following Supreme Court challenges in 2001 and 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers announced a forthcoming administrative rule to close enforcement loopholes, restoring protections to 20 million acres of wetlands, more than half the nation’s streams, and drinking water for 117 million Americans.

Rural America – and the family farmers, ranchers and small towns therein – are the tip of the spear in protecting America’s water quality. The proposed rule is a commonsense effort to clear the regulatory waters, protect the nation’s surface waters, and provide an environment in which economically vital activities such as hunting, fishing and birding as well as farming and ranching can thrive.

The EPA has an opportunity to ensure that the rule will provide greater opportunities for farmers and ranchers to partner with USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service programs to enhance water quality through increased water retention and reduced runoff with buffer strips, cover crops and other sustainable farming practices. And the rule can help reduce some of the economic burden currently faced by many small towns in improving drinking water quality.

Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, individuals and organizations will have 90 days to offer comments on ways the rule can be improved. Although the new rule is an encouraging first step in providing clarity and a better regulatory framework for protecting surface water quality across the nation, no rule is perfect.

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