Take it to the bank. A rural board meeting somewhere is grappling with the question of growth. These passionate discussions happen constantly in small towns. On one side are those who do not want their community to become a metropolis. On the other are those who want to see new infrastructure, services and economic opportunities.

Every community changes. Look back 10 years anywhere and the amount of change may surprise you. The question is whether that change has been positive. If a community is growth-minded and focused on improving its economy, programs and services; and helping its people – particularly its young people – thrive, there’s a greater chance the change has been good. However, if there is apathy or too many obstacles to growth, the local economy can stagnate, and the change manifests as deterioration of buildings, infrastructure, businesses and optimism. 

For a community to thrive, it must grow. The U.S. remains a land of opportunity boasting the strongest economy in the world and offering the greatest quality of life in history. The freedom to acquire property, establish businesses and build them up to provide for employees and their families is central to the economy. It creates vibrant communities that grow at a rate sufficient to provide opportunities for their residents, including youth who wish to stay.

The question then becomes how to grow. Leaders are wise to be leery of the golden goose promising to solve all economic problems and poised to change a rural town overnight. My family recently drove to Logan Springs – the former home of a mining community in southeastern Nevada. It existed briefly in the late 1800s after silver ore was found in the hills. The town boasted several buildings and a post office, growing to 300 people seemingly overnight. Then mining currents changed, and the town quickly turned to dust. Little remains today where Logan, Nevada once stood. Situations like these dot our history, where a single industry or company makes or breaks a town.

The best way to grow is from within. This makes sense when realizing most opportunities in America come from small businesses. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council reports that 62% of net job creation in the U.S. has come from small businesses since 1995. And “small businesses created 1.6 million net new jobs in 2019, with firms employing fewer than 20 workers generating 1.1 million net new jobs.”

As growth comes up in small towns, my hope is leaders ask how to support the people who are already there. Questions like these are useful: 

“How can we support existing small businesses?” 

“How can we help entrepreneurs start new ones that will enhance the community?” 

“What obstacles can we help remove?” 

“What does the rising generation need in training and opportunity to generate more homegrown success?”

That mindset will allow more rural communities to look back 10 years from now with gratitude at what they see – a flourishing town that still feels like home.

Rural Business in the News

Here are some rural business stories that caught my attention.

Greenhouse celebrates 45 years of poinsettia production

Business North Carolina profiles a family-owned greenhouse in Stokes County, North Carolina, marking 45 years of cultivating poinsettias. The business, known for its diverse selection of poinsettias, also grows other plants like geraniums and ferns. With no plans to slow down, the family business is expanding and continues its tradition of providing high-quality plants to the community.

https://businessnc.com/nc-trend-a-family-owned-greenhouse-in-stokes-county-marks-45-years-of-growing-poinsettias/

Hospital expands rural healthcare access

Louisville Public Media reports that Rush Memorial Hospital in Rushville, Indiana, is using innovative approaches to address healthcare gaps in rural communities. By utilizing paramedics for home care, operating a mobile clinic, and leveraging telehealth, the hospital aims to improve access to primary care services for underserved populations.

https://www.lpm.org/news/2024-12-01/hospital-uses-paramedicine-mobile-clinics-to-address-gaps-in-rural-primary-care

Nebraska rancher builds successful farm-to-table business

Successful Farming profiles Hannah Klitz, a Nebraska rancher who has built a thriving farm-to-table business, marketing and shipping her beef nationwide. Klitz also shares her entrepreneurial journey and offers online courses to help other producers succeed in direct-to-consumer sales.

https://www.agriculture.com/15-minutes-with-a-farmer-hannah-klitz-nebraska-beef-8753759

Iowa businesses advocate for electricity rate reform

Radio Iowa reports that business groups are urging state regulators to adopt “Integrated Resource Planning” when considering future electricity rate increases. This approach aims to ensure more affordable rates by analyzing both electricity demand and supply projections.

https://www.radioiowa.com/2024/12/02/iowa-business-groups-seek-reform-of-process-for-setting-electricity-rates

Rural America faces philanthropic gap

A new report from the Richmond Fed Economic Focus highlights the challenges rural communities face in attracting philanthropic support. Factors such as limited grant-writing capacity and a perception of ineffective place-based development hinder philanthropic investment in these areas. The report offers recommendations for philanthropic organizations to better support rural communities.

https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/econ_focus/2024/q4_feature2

AI cameras improve dairy farm management

Dairy Herd Management reports dairy farms are increasingly utilizing AI-powered cameras to monitor cow health, behavior, and feeding patterns. This technology provides valuable data to farmers, enabling them to make more informed decisions and improve overall farm management.

https://www.dairyherd.com/news/business/got-ai-valuable-smart-technology-has-arrived-farm

Rural Minnesota businesses face succession challenges

A new report from the Center for Rural Policy and Development in Minnesota highlights the challenges of business succession in rural communities, including an aging population of business owners and difficulties finding qualified buyers. The report emphasizes the importance of successful transitions for the local economy and offers recommendations for overcoming these challenges, such as improving access to resources and developing comprehensive succession plans.

https://www.ruralmn.org/rural-minnesota-business-succession-and-sale-barriers-and-opportunities/

Ben Rowley is a small-town news publisher and writes about Rural Business issues. Find more content at RuralBusiness.com. Have a Rural Business story to share? Reach out at contact@ruralbusiness.com.

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News articles throughout the U.S. each Thanksgiving week promote “Small Business Saturday.” It’s the day following “Black Friday,” when consumers are encouraged to support local, independent retailers with their Christmas shopping dollars.  

Farm Bureau Financial Services (FBFS) reports that American Express launched the promotion in 2010 “to help small businesses gain exposure and inspire consumers to shop within their own communities during the holiday season.” Local, state and federal officials, looking to help small businesses work their way out of the Great Recession, quickly endorsed the idea, and an annual day supporting mom-and-pop shops around the country was born. According to AmEx, this has led to more than $200 billion in Small Business Saturday sales since 2012.

That’s cool. The more days and events geared toward strengthening small businesses, the better. This is especially true for rural businesses that serve limited customer bases and compete daily with multinational corporations for local dollars. I often hear reports from owners that Small Business Saturday and major community events are the difference-makers for their businesses.

But rather than a few days where we alter our shopping habits, why not permanently change them to help local economies thrive? 

That’s undoubtedly easier said than done, and it’s not all on consumers. We gratefully live in a free-market economy that rewards good ideas. Businesses large and small must provide products and services people want and can afford. Successful entrepreneurs continually assess how they can best serve their customers, not how they can make customers feel sorry for them so they’ll buy an inferior product. 

That said, consumers could significantly impact their local economy by supporting local businesses over large corporations. According to FBFS, for every dollar spent at a local small business, 68 cents stays within the local economy. That’s the money that supports school programs, parks, emergency services – you name it. I’ve found that some of the most generous people on the planet are small business owners. They are frequently approached to support the good causes of the community and are generally the quickest to write the checks.

Besides, a community with many thriving small businesses is a more enjoyable place to live. It fights off isolation and loneliness as we interact in shops, restaurants and community markets. It creates jobs and economic independence. It produces people with purpose – a community-minded bunch who work together to push their small towns forward. 

There are more opportunities to spend those dollars locally than one might think, but it does require a paradigm shift. We’ve been well-trained to find what we need online or at the big box, but as one chamber of commerce leader recently told me, nearby small businesses often offer the same products (or better ones) at reasonable prices. These businesses certainly need to find more ways to let consumers know they’re there, but all other things being equal, it wouldn’t hurt to ask this simple question when reaching for the wallet:

Should this dollar go to the corporate billionaire, or to that nice lady from the PTA? 

Or that gentleman from church. 

Or that local grower at the farmer’s market. 

I’ve got nothing against billionaires, but if I have a choice between funding their next trip to space or the next elementary school field trip – it’s a pretty easy decision.

Ben Rowley is a small-town news publisher and writes about Rural Business issues. Find more content at RuralBusiness.com. Have a Rural Business story to share? Reach out at contact@ruralbusiness.com.

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While rural communities contribute so much to our nation, they receive a disproportionately small share of philanthropic dollars. The numbers are stark: rural areas make up 20% of the US population, yet they only receive around 7% of the nation’s philanthropic giving. This disparity has real consequences for these vital communities.

We’re not just talking about a lack of volunteer hours – which rural communities have in spades. We’re talking about the larger philanthropic investments that can fuel growth and revitalization, the kind of funding that can make a real difference. So, why does this gap exist? Is it a matter of visibility? A lack of capacity to apply for grants? Or is it something more complex? And, most importantly, what can be done to bridge this divide?

Joining us today is Jarrod Elwell, the Community Development Regional Manager for the Richmond Fed, serving Virginia and Washington, D.C. Jarrod brings nearly three decades of experience in community development and a deep passion for rural communities. He’s seen firsthand the challenges these areas face and the incredible potential they hold.

We’ll be discussing everything from the underlying reasons behind the philanthropy gap to successful revitalization projects, like those highlighted in a recent Richmond Fed article. We’ll explore the importance of patience in rural development, the best approaches to job creation, and the crucial first steps a rural leader can take to ignite positive change in their community. Join us as we unravel the complexities of rural philanthropy and explore pathways to a more equitable future for these vital communities.

The post Episode 53: The Rural Philanthropy Gap appeared first on Rural Business.

Moab, Utah has seen its fair share of boom times. First it was the uranium boom in the 1960s and 70s, when prospectors flooded Moab to mine the nuclear fuel, and trailer camps dotted the desert landscape. Then it was the tourism boom of the 2010s, when the Mighty Five campaign drew visitors from near and far to Utah’s five stunning, red-rock national parks. 

However, these boom times have only led to bust for affordable housing. Like many other gateway communities, which serve as entry to the great outdoors, Moab’s housing market continues to suffer in the shadows of its nearby natural beauty.

“What happens is the housing stock that should be there for the locals gets turned into nightly rentals for tourists, or second or third homes,” said Rikki Epperson, executive director of Community Rebuilds, a Moab-based affordable housing nonprofit. “There are so many homes that are vacant most of the year.”  Layer on a pandemic and a major economic downturn, and the year-round residents of Moab — people like teachers, firefighters and healthcare workers — are left with minimal affordable housing options beyond the outdated uranium trailer homes. 

Transforming those trailer homes into affordable, energy efficient housing is exactly how Community Rebuilds found its footing. Over the past two decades, the nonprofit has built 73 homes across five counties, housing 91 people and teaching hundreds more about renewable energy and sustainable construction.

“Community Rebuilds and the Mutual Self-Help Program we operate with is just the best thing Moab has to offer as far as buying a house that’s more than half the cost of any other homes on the market,” Epperson said in an interview on the Rural Business Show. On the podcast, Epperson discussed the rural housing crisis and the innovative model her organization is using to make homeownership attainable for residents in gateway communities like Moab; Bluff, Utah; and Crested Butte, Colorado.  

How It Works

Community Rebuilds has developed an innovative, low-tech model to increase affordable housing stock that leverages streamlined architectural designs, natural and recycled materials, and volunteers who want to learn more about sustainable construction. The program helps established residents with low or very low incomes apply for subsidized loans through the USDA Rural Development. Many homeowners Community Rebuilds works with will qualify for 502 Direct Loans, which are low-interest, no down payment loans with optional subsidies. Then, qualified homeowners work with volunteers and instructors to build their own homes from the ground up. 

“All of our homeowners are owner builders,” Epperson said. “We’re just giving them guidance and managing the participation around that so it’s fair, modest, affordable and successful.” However, homeowners don’t need to know how to frame a house or install plumbing. “We also run a building school to teach people who have maybe never even swung a hammer before,” Epperson said.   

Homeowners are required to contribute an average of 100 hours per month of sweat equity, though they can recruit friends and family to help fulfill up to 50% of that requirement. The rest of the labor is provided pro bono by Community Rebuilds. The nonprofit passes on this equity to homeowners in the form of a second lien, which is distributed back to homeowners at a rate of 5% per year for 20 years. In combination with a restriction on nightly rentals and other income producing activities like farming, this serves to protect affordability and encourage long-term ownership.   

“The biggest fatal flaw is that shelter is seen as asset,” Epperson said. “We all buy real estate, and if we’re in the position to, we’ll buy more real estate because it’s the best way to invest your money. If you can take that out of the equation, and shelter can be viewed as shelter, and it can be offered to everybody — that would be the dream.” 

Affordability That Lasts 

With an eye on long-term community investment, Community Rebuilds is also focused on using low-carbon, natural building materials like straw bale and blown cellulose, an insulation made from recycled newspapers. 

“In the hot sun in the desert, if you put your hand under the sand, it’s cool. That’s the thermal mass factor,” Epperson said. “It’s the best way that we’ve found to have a home that works with the environment to keep the home comfortable on the inside.” 

Community Rebuilds homes start with conventional framing techniques and typically feature at least one thermal mass wall to collect heat from the sun during the day and release it at night. “For the last few years, we’ve given homeowners the option for a straw bale wall on the south side, so they can get all the passive solar sun,” Epperson said. “They are just beautiful, but they actually do have other benefits besides just being pretty.” 

In addition to passive solar energy, the homes are thickly insulated and equipped with active solar energy as well, allowing homeowners to keep utility bills and costs of living down. Epperson estimated that homeowners pay an average monthly fee of $9-15 for all utilities. The result is a home that is both financially sustainable and climate conscious.  

“I became a homeowner with the program 11 years ago, and I’ve been a superfan ever since,” said Nancy Morlock, who now serves as program manager at Community Rebuilds. “I can tell that we help stabilize the community. We have built for teachers and all sorts of townspeople, and it warms my heart to see that happening.” 

Learn More About Community Rebuilds 

To learn more about the Community Rebuilds model for affordable housing or get involved, visit communityrebuilds.org.

Listen to the full interview here and connect with listeners of the Rural Business Show on X and Facebook.

The post Building Stability: This Nonprofit is Transforming Affordable Housing in Moab appeared first on Rural Business.

It’s been a while since we’ve recorded an episode of The Rural Business Show. It’s been a year of change for our business, Nevada Central Media, as we went from publishing one rural weekly newspaper to four.

This episode of the Rural Business Show focuses on the business of small-town news. The challenging environment has seen thousands of rural newspapers close their doors in the last decade. However, community news is not dead, and many publishers have successfully navigated this rapidly changing landscape.

One of those is Vernon Robison, former publisher of the Mesa Valleys Progress. Vernon owned the Progress from 2004 until we purchased it from him just a few months ago. In our conversation, Vernon reflects on his time running the Progress, why he decided to move on after 20 years and the challenges and rewards of the newspaper business. 

The post Episode 52: The Rural News Business appeared first on Rural Business.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden announced that USDA is inviting applications for grants to strengthen rural cooperatives that serve and are made up of people who are part of socially disadvantaged groups in rural areas.

USDA is making the $3 million in grants available under the Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant program to help new and existing cooperatives strengthen their hands-on assistance, like leadership training and strategic planning, to small business owners and agricultural producers. This program is part of USDA’s commitment to ensuring that people of all backgrounds have the resources they need to thrive.

Rural cooperatives and Cooperative Development Centers are eligible to apply for grants to provide assistance to rural small business owners and agricultural producers from socially disadvantaged groups. The maximum award is $175,000.

USDA is particularly interested in applications that will advance the Biden Administration’s priorities to:

• Reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.
• Ensure all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD-funded projects; and
• Help rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.

Additional information on these key priorities is available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points.

Electronic applications must be submitted to grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 3, 2024.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to discuss their project and ask any questions about the program or the application process. Contact information for state offices can be found at http://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices.

Additional information on how to apply is available on page 22979 of the April 3, 2024, Federal Register.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden announced USDA is accepting applications until May 21, 2024, for funding under the ReConnect Program.

This is the fifth round of funding under the program, which provides loans and grants to bring high-speed internet to the most remote and difficult-to-serve rural and Tribal communities in America.

A total of $700 million is available under four funding categories:

• Up to $200 million is available for loans.
• Up to $200 million is available for loan/grant combinations.
• Up to $150 million is available for grants.
• Up to $150 million is available for grants serving Alaska Native corporations, Tribal governments, colonias, persistent poverty areas and socially vulnerable communities.

USDA is making several program improvements for this round of funding. For instance:

• USDA will award priority points to applications proposing to serve areas in states with
  the highest concentrations of Unserved Broadband Serviceable Locations (UBSLs).
• Organizations, including Tribes, that can meet robust financial tests will have increased
  ability to streamline the required elements in a ReConnect application.
• At least 90% of households within a proposed service area must lack sufficient access to high-speed internet, which is now defined as fixed, terrestrial high-speed internet speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload.

Applications must be submitted electronically through the application system at usda.gov/reconnect by 11:59 a.m. ET on May 21, 2024.

More information is available in the Federal Register and on Grants.gov.

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Through REAP Technical Assistance Grants, USDA Rural Development offers hands-on assistance to agricultural producers and small business owners applying for Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) funding, which aims to lower energy costs and make energy efficiency improvements in rural areas.

This assistance is made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Eligible recipients for these grants include state, Tribal or local governments; colleges and universities; electric cooperatives and utility companies; and nonprofit organizations.

Recipients may use the funds to:

• Help rural agricultural producers and small business owners apply for REAP funding.
• Provide information on how business owners and agricultural producers can improve the energy efficiency of their operations and use renewable energy technologies and resources.
• Conduct required energy assessments and audits.
• Help agricultural producers and small business owners with planning construction and development of renewable energy or energy efficiency projects.
• Assist with the completion of environmental reports and/or documentation required for submittal of applications.

Contact Laura Chavez at laura.chavez@usda.gov to learn more or ask further questions.

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Housing continues to be a difficult challenge for rural communities. Often, jobs are unfilled because of a lack of adequate and affordable housing. Attracting builders is a challenge as is an increasing number of units being used as vacation properties.

Community Rebuilds based in Moab, Utah addresses these challenges by building energy-efficient, affordable homes. The organization has created an innovative social enterprise, building affordable housing by taking several steps to reduce the cost of construction and lowering utility costs.

Rikki Epperson is Community Rebuilds’ Executive Director. She recently joined me to talk about rural housing, what we are getting right or wrong with providing it, and how her organization is contributing to positive change in this important industry.

Photos courtesy of Community Rebuilds

The post Episode 51: Rural Housing appeared first on Rural Business.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that USDA is accepting grant applications for community-driven programs that will help create high-wage jobs and new businesses in underserved rural communities.

The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) program encourages regional, innovation-driven approaches to economic development by funding job accelerator partnerships in low-income and underserved rural communities.

For fiscal year 2024, the program is making approximately $2 million available to partnerships of local governments, investors, industry, institutions of higher education, and other public and private entities in rural areas. The funding may be used to support innovation centers and job accelerator programs that improve the ability of distressed rural communities to create high-wage jobs, form new businesses, and identify and maximize local assets.

USDA encourages applications that serve the smallest communities with the lowest incomes. USDA is particularly interested in applications that will advance Biden-Harris Administration priorities to:

• Reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.
• Ensure all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD-funded projects; and
• Help rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.

The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, April 1, 2024. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. Potential applicants may submit a concept proposal for review by the agency to Grants.gov no later than 4:30 p.m. local time Feb. 1, 2024.

The minimum award amount per grant is $500,000. The maximum award amount per grant is $2 million.

For additional information, see page 43 of the Jan. 2, 2024, Federal Register.

Applicants are encouraged to contact their nearest USDA Rural Development State Office ahead of the application deadline for more information about the program or the application process.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

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