Alternative Energy in the Land of Oil: Who Benefits?

By Adam Blair, Research Assistant, Cornell University’s Community and Regional Development Institute (CaRDI)

As my car crawled west along Interstate 20 in West Texas, the arid October landscape seemed to stretch outward in a quiet perpetuity, punctuated only by the occasional intersection. It was my first time in the Lone Star State, and the magnitude of the Texas plain weighed down on the vehicle in a way that made me feel like a speck on a map. The vacant horizon left nothing but my odometer as a point of reference.

As I approached Abilene that first afternoon, I encountered towering masses of steel sprouting from the ground, their unnatural appearance invoking a sense of disbelief.

This rural landscape that has supported cotton and cattle since the early 19th Century and petroleum since the 20th continues its legacy as a natural resource-dependent economy with the rapid development of commercial wind energy. Now home to thousands of wind turbines generating enough electricity to power over 2.7 million homes, Texas leads the nation in the expansion of this energy source.

But while the industry is creating jobs, boosting local tax revenues, and providing supplemental income to struggling farmers, I found that this burgeoning enterprise has been largely immune from broader questions concerning long-term community and economic impacts. As a student of city and regional planning, I wondered how, and to what extent, local communities were capturing the wealth generated by the wind energy industry. It was also unclear to me how the benefits derived from wind development—monetary or otherwise—were redistributed amongst local populations.

To begin to answer these and other questions for a Rural Futures Lab case study, I first took the time to understand the important rural-urban linkages that support the energy sector of the U.S. Embodied by the string of electrical transmission lines stretching from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to the communities west of the Brazos River—the very route I had just driven—the concept is one familiar to many rural policymakers.

Linkages between rural industries and urban consumers have existed for centuries in the United States, encouraged and even directed to a large degree by the construction of the transcontinental railroads of the mid-19th century and the Interstate Highway System of the mid-20th. And as the nation continues its trend of urbanization, the reliance on rural America’s bounty will become even more prevalent. In a foundation paper authored for the Rural Futures Lab in June 2011, my colleagues and I explored this trend in more detail. We predict that an increasing remoteness of energy generation, driven in part by a transition to more land-intensive, renewable forms of energy, will have profound impacts on rural communities.

My interviews with West Texans confirmed many of the concerns we raised in our report, but also highlighted many of the opportunities discussed in Susan Lurie and Michael Hibbard’s recent blog post on the new natural resource economy (NNRE). For instance, while wind development has been embraced by many landowners, the following comment from a West Texas resident demonstrates just one of many difficulties in achieving the balance between natural resource production and protection described under NNRE: “…you’ll find a lot of places in Central Texas that have chosen not to take wind turbines. Some of them call it eye pollution. They get down there and like the rocky areas and like the clear skies and don’t want to see ’em.”

Equally insightful was my conversation with a small business owner in West Texas. He recognized the importance of using tax revenues generated by the wind energy industry to “improve the quality of life” and consequently mitigate some of the negative boom-bust effects discussed in our foundation paper. However, he noted the difficulty in convincing public officials to do anything but provide tax abatements to lure new, outside firms instead of supporting existing small business in the region.

Of course, only history will tell whether Texas’ newest experiment in rural economic development will result in a windfall or washout for local residents and communities. To ensure equitable benefits, it is imperative that new wealth is captured and reinvested in a way that will improve the quality of life for everyone, for this, one rancher reminds us, “is [the] best thing that can happen to a rural community.”

Urban Escapees: The Future of Rural Communities?

By Katie McCaskey, Urban Escapee and small town grocer

Face it: the "city folk" are moving here.

As we enter an increasingly dense urban future, more urbanites will seek solace in calmer quarters—and, instead of embracing fear, rural residents should grab this opportunity with open arms. "Urban escapees" bring a variety of assets to rural America.

I speak as an urban escapee myself. I lived in three major cities before returning to my rural roots. It's a move that did not appeal to me in my twenties but, as I entered my thirties, grew increasingly enchanting. The move allowed my husband and me to buy property and start a business on Main Street, two things that were fiscally out of reach living in a large metro area. And, unlike previous generations, I had the added advantage to bring my job with me thanks to telecommuting.

In short, retirees are not the only city people who are discovering new opportunities in smaller locations. Mid-career professionals are starting to see untapped value in rural areas, and in the "micro urban" pockets of rural downtowns.

Many have mourned the decay of rural downtowns. But people like me—urban escapees who appreciate compact, city living—see a blank canvas of opportunity improved by several intersecting trends in technology, economy, and ecology.

Micropolitan Manifesto

Staunton, Virginia (population 23,000), where I live, is doing an excellent job of recruiting urban escapees with ambitions to start independent businesses. George Bowers Grocery, our business, was the first loan recipient of the Staunton Creative Community Fund, a microfinance organization. The fund was initially financed by the city. It has grown through a combination of public, private, and grant monies from the state and federal level and supported the start of several businesses.

I strongly believe entrepreneurship is the primary way forward for rural downtowns. I also believe that encouraging urban escapees to apply their experience and resources toward revitalization should be encouraged, not feared. My experience working with my husband to build our business prompted me to write the "Micropolitan Manifesto", a call to artists, change makers, and entrepreneurs.

I invite you to read it, share it, and connect with me if you would like to discuss!


Katie McCaskey is author of the forthcoming book, "Urban Escapee: How to Ditch the Commute, Build a Business, and Revitalize Main Street". Sign up at her site to be notified when the book is released.

Photo: Pat Jarrett

Visit the Rural Futures Lab here.

Entrepreneurs and the Creative Rural Economy

By Mary Mathews, President & CEO, Entrepreneur Fund

Anna Anderson and Elizabeth Chapman are typical rural entrepreneurs: that is, they are completely unique. Sisters in their early 30s, they joined their father’s business five years ago in Angora, Minnesota (population: 277). Today, Art Unlimited is a dynamic and growing interactive media solutions, web design, marketing solutions, and graphic design company.

Well before joining the family business, Anna and Elizabeth demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit. When they were 12 and 13, the sisters wanted animals. Their parents told them that they would need to raise the money to pay for animal feed. The girls wrote a business plan for a boarding kennel and a dog-food distribution business and won a national business plan competition. They then convinced a local bank to make them an $8,000 business loan--without their parents co-signing for the note. Elizabeth still runs the boarding kennel.

I met Anna and Elizabeth at one of the Entrepreneur Fund's “Be Strategic: Grow Your Business” series. During the eight-session, six-month “Be Strategic” series, the sisters clarified Art Unlimited’s company vision, developed a strategic plan for growth, and improved their skills in marketing, finance and operations. They are expanding their customer base into regional and national markets. They are clear about who their customer is and the value Art Unlimited provides. Now they are using the planning tools acquired in “Be Strategic” to help their clients clarify their own vision and strategy. They are adding three new high-quality jobs to their six-person company to facilitate their growth.



At the "Be Strategic" series graduation,
with Anna Anderson and Elizabeth Chapman (two at left)
and Mary Mathews (far right).

 After 30 years of working in rural development, I still regularly ask myself how we can accelerate the growth of our rural economies. How do we create more opportunities for our young people to stay in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin or move back to raise their families?

I believe that the answer lies with skilled rural entrepreneurs. Of course, investments in broadband, workforce education, infrastructure, and capital are critical components of rural development. But entrepreneurs are the ones who are capable of growing strong local companies, building regional wealth, and creating jobs. And they are tomorrow’s community leaders.

Helping Rural Entrepreneurs Succeed

Even for individuals with strong entrepreneurial instincts, skill development improves the opportunity for business success. Since 1989, the Entrepreneur Fund has worked in Minnesota and Wisconsin to identify, guide, and support local entrepreneurs that have drive and ideas. We work to accelerate their skills development and overcome barriers to their growth.

After four years of regional planning, in 2008 the Entrepreneur Fund launched the Greenstone Group initiative to build an organized, intentional system of entrepreneur support for northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. This initiative targets entrepreneurs who have been in business at least two years and have a vision and desire to grow their companies.

In 2003, the Entrepreneur Fund helped Don and Leanne Negley start Rural Living Environments (RLE), in Babbitt, Minnesota. The company specializes in creating supportive living environments for adults with developmental disabilities in a rural setting. We helped them with the initial business plan and start-up financing. Later, a Greenstone Group Business Performance Coach helped Don grow the company. RLE employs 40 people and Don has plans for additional growth.

We have developed and tested tools and activities to guide entrepreneurs toward growth and to measure the resulting changes in their entrepreneurial skills. All Greenstone activities, whether one-on-one or group, share common elements. We believe that entrepreneurs learn best from other entrepreneurs, so we:

• provide networking opportunities,
• build peer-learning groups among entrepreneurs at similar levels of development, and
• include skilled, experienced entrepreneurs in every activity, as coaches and guides to accelerate and enhance the learning that occurs.

In addition, we work collaboratively with other public and private service providers to ensure the entrepreneur has the resources and support s/he needs. 
 
The Entrepreneur Fund also works to support diverse business ownership in the region. For example, our Women’s Business Center hosted its first three-day Women’s Strategy Weekend (WSW) in March. Ten women with existing companies refined their vision and developed strategic plans to grow their companies. 
 

As a result of her participation in WSW,
Art in the Alley's owner plans to expand to several more locations.
Pictured: Tami LaPole Edmunds (owner at right) and her daughter Gwen LaPole

 
Our Vision and Track Record
 
The Entrepreneur Fund’s long-term vision is of a regional culture where being an entrepreneur is an equal choice to getting a job, where young people can chose to stay in rural communities because they see creative opportunities for starting companies or finding jobs, and where the process of entrepreneurial thinking and business cycles are understood. Success is celebrated and a failure is learned from…and the process of creation goes on. 
 
Formerly the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, the Entrepreneur Fund's development services have helped entrepreneurs start or grow over 1,300 companies since its formation in 1989. It $8 million loan fund has provided $15 million in loans to 450 companies. The Entrepreneur Fund is the developer of the CORE FOUR Business Planning Course® and Be Strategic: Grow Your Business. 
 
The Greenstone Group has so far worked with 150 entrepreneurs running companies with annual revenues ranging from $20,000 to $10 million. Their companies have increased profitability, grown revenues, and found new markets.
 
 
More about the Entrepreneur Fund
 
The Entrepreneur Fund's mission is to develop skilled entrepreneurs who build strong locally-owned companies in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. We envision a strong regional economy with an entrepreneurial culture that cultivates thriving companies and vibrant communities.
 
The Entrepreneur Fund launched the Greenstone Group in 2008 with visionary support and a 10-year grant from the John S & James L Knight Foundation.
 
 
About the Author
 
Mary Mathews is a social entrepreneur and the founding president of the Entrepreneur Fund. She is a past board chair of the Opportunity Finance Network and Association for Enterprise Opportunity and a current board member of the Duluth Art Institute and NorthStar Aerospace. Mary is a northeastern Minnesota native, former business owner, and an Iowa State University graduate.
 
 
Photos provided by the author.

The New Natural Resource Economy and Rural Economic Development

By Susan Lurie (Oregon State University) and Michael Hibbard (University of Oregon)

 

 

Photo: Susan Lurie – 2012

 

A couple of years ago, while our research team was working on a project in Grant County in deep rural east-central Oregon (read our report or journal article), we had the opportunity to sit in on an “economic summit” for the county. The local extension agent pointed out that the two industries that formed the historic economic base of the county—timber and cattle—were both in long-term, permanent decline.

As a consequence, Grant County—like many resource dependent rural communities—is struggling with loss of jobs and local businesses and wealth, and generally declining community vitality. The problems are mainly due to forces beyond their control, such as globalization and economic restructuring, the dominance of the industrialized commodity production model, and changing societal demands for agricultural and natural resource products.

As we listened to the audience discussion of the presentation, we were struck by something. Everyone present had an abiding commitment to Grant County and was deeply worried about the future of the community. They also had a strong love for rural and small town life, especially as it related to making a living off the land.

A significant segment of the audience saw the only hope for the community in a return to traditional uses of natural resources. That last sentiment was not new to us, of course. What was new to the discussion was the significant fraction of the audience who were interested in considering alternative possibilities for natural resource management. They saw that there may be ways to make a living from natural resources based on emerging markets for products that reflect increasing societal expectations that natural capital should be managed and utilized in a more sustainable manner.

Photo: Country Natural Beef  

As researchers, we decided to look more closely into what this “new” natural resource economy (NNRE) comprises as a complement to traditional uses. We wondered whether it might help create a way for rural communities to think about economic development in response to contemporary economic and social realities.

Problems of Natural Resource-based Economies

The industrialized approach to agriculture and natural resource management—which includes specialization, standardization, and consolidation in pursuit of increased efficiency—has disconnected rural communities from the larger economy. At the same time, societal demands for protection and enhancement of rural communities’ key assets (their natural resources) has led to more stringent regulations affecting production.

Some rural communities with high amenity values have developed alternative economies as sites for tourism and retirement. For most communities, however, the decoupling from the larger economy has been an intractable socio-economic problem, and rural communities continue to lag behind urban areas.

How the New Natural Resource Economy (NNRE) is Different

The NNRE may offer a way out of the dilemma by reframing natural resources as assets to be managed for the long term. It emphasizes a multifunctional landscape that balances agricultural and natural resource production with amenities for recreation and cultural activities and protective natural services such as air and water purification, biodiversity, and flood and erosion control. Activities and businesses comprising the NNRE may not be new; what is new is accounting for them collectively as an emerging economic sector in its own right that can help diversify rural economies and increase local resilience and economic autonomy.

As we probed these ideas it quickly became apparent that the predicament is not limited to the U.S. Most developed countries are facing similar challenges and a variety of policy responses have emerged. To shed light on the U.S. situation, Oregon seemed a good place to start: many rural Oregon communities are struggling with economic change and the rural development grapevine gave us reason to believe there is quite a bit of NNRE activity at work, informally and without any overarching state or local strategy.

Preliminary Research

To get a sense of what types of enterprises currently comprise Oregon’s NNRE and what institutional challenges they face, we conducted a survey and three in-depth case studies of Oregon rural communities. Details of the study and policy issues identified can be found at the Rural Futures Lab website.

In summary, we found that some communities are engaged in NNRE economic development, although it is not typically identified as such. It was also clear that there is generally low or no understanding of how to define and develop a local or regional NNRE strategy in order to overcome existing barriers and foster institutional changes to help rural communities.

As research and action moves forward, it will be important to continue identifying institutional barriers that must be changed in order to encourage and nurture rural NNRE entrepreneurialism. We would like to search for answers to questions about the NNRE such as:

• What other challenges are NNRE enterprises encountering, and what steps can be taken to remove those barriers?
• What examples exist in different contexts that would help rural communities looking for innovative ways of building more sustainable futures?

As we continue to refine our understanding of the NNRE, comparative studies and examples of practicable NNRE economic development policies and programs will help create a framework that can be adapted to local circumstances in order to help the NNRE flourish and, with it, rural communities. 

 

 

Susan Lurie is a faculty research associate in the Policy Research Program at the Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon State University.

Michael Hibbard is Professor Emeritus, Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management, and Director, Institute for Policy Research & Innovation, at the University of Oregon.

Visit the RUPRI Rural Futures Lab here.

Resilience in the Face of Disaster

By Brian Dabson, Director, Rural Futures Lab

Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through the Midwest Plains states this weekend, leaving death and destruction in their wake. Once again, national attention turns to how communities such as Woodward, Oklahoma, and Thurman, Iowa, can rebuild and recover.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Biloxi, Mississippi and saw the progress that had been made in recovering from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. Six years on, the rebuilding continues and the stories of the people who survived the disaster in spite of losing their homes and businesses are testaments to the resilience of the communities along the Gulf Coast. Although many people left and have not returned, it is clear that there is a powerful human force at work which drives not only a desire to rebuild but also to create a better place.

In 2007, a tornado leveled Greensburg, Kansas. The city council passed a resolution stating that all city buildings would be built to LEED platinum standards, making it the first city in the nation to do so.

Regional Resilience Issues
Resilience is the term used to describe the process by which communities and regions bounce back after a disaster, and is the subject of a new report from the Rural Futures Lab. Regional Resilience: Research and Policy Brief was prepared for the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) to review the growing literature on the topic, the approaches being adopted by Federal agencies, and the work of public-private partnerships to improve community understanding and preparedness. The report also includes new analyses of economic, social, and infrastructure vulnerability across the nation.

Here are some of the report’s conclusions:

Research and experience over the past 20 years show a growing understanding of the complexity of anticipating, responding to, and recovering from disasters of all types. It is no longer possible, if it ever was, to focus on a particular type of disaster in isolation, such as terrorism or flooding, because communities increasingly are faced with multiple, and sometimes cascading hazards. This realization demands what is commonly termed an all-hazards approach. Although each hazard presents particular challenges, the processes of preparedness and planning are broadly consistent, and there is general consensus on the main components of these processes.

This map shows the number of FEMA Disaster Declarations per county
against the national average. It covers the time period from 1991 - 2011.

Some communities and regions are clearly more vulnerable than others to disasters, although no community is immune from some sort of threat. Settlements on coastlines, in river floodplains and valleys, in or adjacent to forestlands, on seismic faults, or in the regular paths of major storms can be particularly vulnerable. Some of these communities may well have placed themselves in harm’s way as a result of poor or short-sighted development decisions.

But vulnerability is more than a function of geography, it can also be economic. The disaster may be the closing of a plant or the collapse of a whole industry as a result of changing market conditions or the introduction of new technologies; or it may be a consequence of a natural disaster that has disrupted or even destroyed local businesses. Sustaining businesses and economies has been shown to be a critical part of regional and community recovery but often not give the priority deserved.

Vulnerability can also be social, as the events following Hurricane Katrina very publicly demonstrated. Differential impacts on segments of the population based on race, income, mobility, language capability, and other factors are not only unfair and unjust, but undermine recovery efforts.

National Policy
The federal policy response to disasters has been transformed over the past decade. Driven after 9/11 by heightened concerns over terrorism, it has evolved into an all-hazards approach following Hurricane Katrina and a succession of other major disasters both at home and abroad.

The development of the National Response and National Disaster Recovery Frameworks have brought to the forefront the need for seamless coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Elaborate processes and structures have been introduced to pursue planning, coordination, training and exercises, and certification across the country.

Interestingly, this concerted federal effort has generated at least two very important initiatives that have engaged collaborations across the private, public, academic, and nonprofit sectors.

• One is primarily focused on the security of critical infrastructure. It is called the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), and was published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2009. 
• The other initiative focuses on building the capacity of local communities and regions to drive preparedness, response, and recovery efforts in line with their own vision for their future. It is called the Community & Regional Resilience Institute (CARRI).

Disasters pay no attention to jurisdictional boundaries or to whether a place is designated urban or rural, metro or nonmetro. But in rural areas, many counties and localities do not have the personnel or technical or fiscal capacity to engage in planning and preparation. Many of these communities may be vulnerable. The national network of regional development organizations represents an infrastructure that can address this capacity and vulnerability challenge.

All regions and communities need to plan and prepare for disasters in ways that are holistic and fully engaging of all sectors of the community. It is fair to say that there is an ingrained suspicion of, if not outright resistance to, the idea of planning across much of America. But as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, oil spills, wildfires, floods, and other natural and human-made disaster continue to assail our communities, there may be a window of opportunity to recast old and worn-out planning efforts and to help communities and regions see a better future for themselves, with or without a disaster. Moreover, in times of fiscal stringency, where the public sector is less able to function as the principal protector and responder, engaging the resources and talents from all parts of communities and regions may be the best way to proceed.

Visit the Rural Futures Lab here.

A Way Home: Creating Pathways with Community Internships

By Darryl Birkenfeld, Director, Ogallala Commons

We are all on a journey that leads to destinations that we cannot foresee. Navigating the twists and turns of the roads that a person travels to arrive at a home requires mentoring and experience. Community Internships can be an effective tool to meet such requirements, enabling towns and neighborhoods to be proactive in connecting their assets and challenges with new generations of seekers.

In 2002, after 30 years away, I moved back to the Texas village where I grew up. While I was fulfilling my dream of living “back where I came from,” I returned to my hometown without a job in hand.

Thanks to contacts and mentors that I met in my former career, I found my way into nonprofit work, as Director of Ogallala Commons. I am amazed at how my current occupation fits my skills and passions, even though I could not see it on the horizon in earlier years.

At Ogallala Commons, our broad mission is to reinvigorate communities overlying the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer as well as the vast Great Plains region. That work has led us to creating our Community Internship program. Our hope is that the connections the young interns create now may help them find a meaningful place in their home communities or region in the future.

The High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer reaches across parts of eight

Great Plains states and comprises the work area of Ogallala Commons.

 

Even the idea for our Community Internships started with the creativity and energy of a young person from our region. In 2007, a high school graduate from western Kansas community asked to do an internship with Ogallala Commons. We didn’t have an internship program at the time, but the experience of creating one opened a new door for our organization.

As we worked with those first interns, we recognized that most students seek an internship in their college years. An epiphany occurred. Instead of sending youth away to do internships, why not build a program where students and adults could intern in their hometowns or neighborhoods, applying their passion and skills to projects that could benefit communities?

As of 2012, Ogallala Commons has created more than 100 Community Internships in 38 communities and six states (Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma). We have partnered with towns, institutions, and businesses. Currently, we are working on launching 40 new Community Internships.

After six years, we can see that our internships have played a large role in helping people find pathways to their new home. Let’s refer back to the young intern from western Kansas. She went on to complete two more Community Internships, plus an internship with her Congressman during her senior year in college. In 2011, she took a job as Economic Development Director for Wichita County, Kansas. While not exactly back in her hometown, she is just two counties away, already making a huge contribution to western Kansas.

Ogallala Commons counts 13 other Community Interns who are either back in their hometowns, or a community that they choose to live in. An internship wasn’t the only reason for their choices, but it did create a vital pathway that might not have otherwise existed.

With the age and education levels of interns ranging from sophomores in high school to college and all the way to graduate students or adults looking to build skills, a flexible program is essential. Community Internships range from 200 to 240 hours, and can be structured over a period lasting four to 10 weeks. Some of our internships are also carried out over a semester, or during a six-month period.

Though all our interns follow a common structure, each internship is uniquely tailored to what the partners, interns, and their communities need. As a result, candidates with diverse socio-economic and educational backgrounds have gained experiences in:

• community development and leadership,
• entrepreneurship,
• historical preservation,
• nonprofit outreach,
• agricultural careers,
• health care,
• renewable energy,
• social networking, and
• rebuilding local food systems.

Not every Community Internship has been a success. Some falter or are not fully completed due to limitations that arise with regard to three essential components of a Community Internship: a capable supervisor, an adequate set of projects, and a qualified intern.

Ogallala Commons Community Interns at their 2011 Orientation

Ultimately, the success of our program depends on how our partners answer these questions:

• What does my community or neighborhood need that an intern could readily address with their skills and desire to learn?
• Would I or an organization I represent be willing to invest financially and/or provide supervision for an internship?
• Is there a young person or adult that I can identify and that I would personally invite to consider applying for a community internship?

About the program

Visit our Community Interns page to learn more about our Community Internship Program, or to read blogs and see photos of what interns have accomplished in past years. Building such a large program takes significant financial resources. Ogallala Commons has been fortunate to receive annual funding from CHS Foundation, the major giving entity of CHS, an energy, grains and foods company with a stewardship focus of building vibrant communities. In addition to program support, CHS Foundation also provides match funding to leverage investments made by partners.

About the author

Darryl Birkenfeld completed a Ph.D. in social ethics from The Graduate Theological Union and the University of California in Berkeley. As Director of Ogallala Commons, he has worked extensively in youth engagement and entrepreneurship, rebuilding local and regional food systems, public education conferences, water education, and creating a Community Internship program. Darryl resides in Nazareth, TX, and has been married to Joann Starr since 2003. Together they built a home, Casa La Entereza, using many green construction techniques, such as solar electricity generation, energy efficient construction materials, rainwater collection, and xeric landscaping. You can contact him at: darrylb@amaonline.com.

 

Photos and images provided by the author.

 

 

Visit the Rural Futures Lab homepage here.

Youth Renewing the Countryside

By Jan Joannides, Executive Director, Renewing the Countryside

Young people are vital to maintaining vibrant, rural areas.
We need them for their ideas, their energy, and their ability to see things differently. We need them to steward our land and our history. We need them to grow food, harvest energy, and manage our forests. We need them to help create a new, more sustainable, more just economy.

These young leaders are contributing to their home places
by participating in New York's Sustainable Energy Development (SED).
(photo by Kevin Schulte)

Combine the lack of ready-made jobs in rural areas with young people’s zest to explore the world, and it is not surprising that many of our youth head off to urban centers for education, employment, adventure, and excitement. It is not their departure that is of concern, but the fact that most do not return.

While rural communities lament the loss of their young, I believe that they often are partly responsible. They frequently foster a climate that deters young people from joining their community. Sometimes it’s a patronizing attitude towards those who return; other times it’s a closed mind to new ideas or new leaders. On the farm, it can be the many barriers to land ownership for young farmers.

Supporting New & Young Farmers in the Countryside

Many farmland owners in the United States are well into retirement age, and there is going to be a big shift in what the next generation of farmers looks like. In Iowa, for example, nearly 30% of farmland is owned by people over the age of 70. To those of us at Renewing the Countryside, this looks like an opportunity for a new generation of young farmers to step up into the tractor seat and start farming. And we better get moving!

A few things must happen along the way to make this shift:

1. Aspiring farmers need a foundation in, well... farming. Not just production techniques, nor horticulture or even animal sciences per se, but also education in conservation ethics, sustainability, and humanity.
2. Existing farmers and farmland owners need to recognize that their entering into farming was aided by others, often through inheritance. They have worked hard and deserve to realize a profit from their investment, but they should also bear in mind that they could aid a beginning farmer in much the same way their parents did for them years ago--even if that new farmer isn’t one of their own family.
3. Consumers must demand food that is higher quality. The U.S. is wealthy by almost any standard, but our diet is dismal. We deserve better food.

Over the past decade, there has been a new surge in interest in farming and much of it isn’t coming from farm country. This growth is largely in the small and diversified farming sector. The majority of these new small farms contributing to the local & regional food movement are in or near urban centers. At the same time, growth is also taking place in industrial scale monoculture and confinement protein operations. Today it only requires one farmer per 740 acres compared, to a century ago when the ratio was closer to one farmer per 30 acres. 
 
“Renewing the Countryside” in Action
 
Renewing the Countryside has been working with the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) to help bring out aspiring young farmers through our joint effort: Young Organic Stewards (YOS). YOS not only provides education on the practice and business of farming but also provides a path for young farmers to band together and support each other through social media and in-person events.
 
 

 
Renewing the Countryside is also partnering with the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota in an effort to encourage existing farmers to plan for their eventual farm transition to the next generation. We are at the beginning of a three-tiered project to prepare farmers to transition off their land, identify good emerging farmers to co-farm with a goal of farm ownership, and developing a new model for bringing new farmers online with access to land and micro financing.
 
Beyond the Farm
 
But it won’t just be these new farmers alone who move back and give new life to rural communities - it will be artists, teachers, shop keepers, and engaged community members from every corner of our culture. The good news is that not all smart, hardworking young people land in Seattle, Atlanta, or other urban hubs. A growing number are embracing life in rural communities and small towns. 

Many young people take advantage of rural "amenities"
like backcountry trails and adventures.
(photo by Leslie Ross)

We set out to find them and we were inspired—not only by how many we found, but by their ambition and dedication. Renewing the Countryside has been telling the stories of the countryside for over a decade. In that tradition, we recently published a book with Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) titled “Youth: Renewing the Countryside”.
 

 
Many of the inspiring stories are about young farmers, like small grain farmers in Montana and value-added dairy products sold from an on-farm shop. Many more of the stories are about the young people in rural places building on their history and culture. Others are creating uniquely, 21st century opportunities like renewable energy businesses or Internet-based companies. Some are fighting for environmental or social justice. Many have found a foothold in building a stronger, healthier food system.
 
Yet a small town with a gas station, church, and a couple of bars are not enough to attract youth back to the countryside. Young people want to feel welcome and supported by their communities. And once they get there, they want communities with things to do and a family atmosphere.
 
To address these issues, Renewing the Countryside has been working in Southeastern Minnesota on just this issue. Efforts include helping small towns recognize and foster their interdependence and not their provincialism. Communities need to work toward a vibrant, warm and inviting place as a way to encourage growth in both business investment and population.
 
 
What are your communities doing to attract and support younger people? Who are the young entrepreneurs in your communities? How are they doing? Why are they there? What do they add?
 

Photos provided by Renewing the Countryside.
 
About the Author:
 
Jan Joannides is the Executive Director and co-founder of Renewing the Countryside. For the past ten years, she has been an advocate and organizer for rural communities and citizens who are working to stimulate economic growth and enhance their communities through sustainable uses of their landscapes and resources. Prior to her work with Renewing the Countryside, Jan coordinated the Community Assistantship Program at the University of Minnesota and helped found and directed the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management.
 
Visit the Rural Futures Lab website here.