The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently released 2017 Census of Agriculture data show the amount of land in the largest federal conservation programs has decreased nationwide and in many Midwest and Plains states. But that doesn’t mean farmers are ignoring soil health, nutrient runoff or erosion problems. The census asks about federal conservation and wetlands programs, which Michigan State University researcher Adam Reimer said typically refers to land retirements — taking marginal lands out of production in exchange for money. [node:read-more:link]

While members of the General Assembly debate allowing recreational marijuana in Illinois, the state’s Department of Agriculture is preparing for legalization. The department has asked for $8 million for the costs of regulating the cannabis industry, should lawmakers move ahead with to make drug legal for adults.“We don’t know what the final bill would look like,” said John Sullivan, director of the Department of Agriculture. [node:read-more:link]

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has received nearly 20 complaints of alleged puppy scams since 2017, including two reported so far in 2019. The money lost can be significant. Consumers reported losing as much as $1,200 to scammers who were reportedly selling pets online, according to a 2018 report by the Better Business Bureau. In one case, a victim lost $5,000. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, at the Michigan Humane Society in Detroit on Thursday, said many consumers do not realize they may be doing business online with “puppy con artists.” [node:read-more:link]

The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit aimed at conserving land and water, is acquiring 100,000 acres of forest split between southeast Kentucky and northeast Tennessee. It will be one of the largest land conservation and ecological restoration projects for the organization in the Central Appalachians, according to a news release.It will double the amount of Kentucky acreage the organization has protected, either through acquisition or conservancy easements that prevent certain development of the land. [node:read-more:link]

The six-week course covered topics across the spectrum of managing a farm. We heard from bankers, farm management educators, Extension experts in a variety of topics, accountants, business professionals, agricultural advocates and many more people. We walked away with the ability to talk to bankers, accountants, agronomists and the public, as well as to better communicate with and support the other people on our farms. [node:read-more:link]

The big fight in the Nebraska Legislature this year is over plans to reduce property taxes, which has the state's farm lobbies pushing lawmakers hard for some relief. Numbers taken from the 2017 Ag Census show Nebraska farmers have more reason to complain about property taxes than farmers in nearby states.Farm income nationally fell between 2012 and 2017, and land values fell in some states during that time. Property taxes nationally for farmers went up $2 billion over that five-year stretch, jumping from $7.4 billion to $9.4 billion. [node:read-more:link]

For five straight months, the Rural Mainstreet Index(RMI) has shown above neutral growth for the rural economy. The monthly survey of bank CEOs in a 10-state Midwest region is at 50.0 for April 2019, which is at growth neutral and down slightly from 52.9 in March.  “Our surveys over the last several months indicate the Rural Mainstreet economy is expanding outside of agriculture. However, this month, 43.8% of bank CEOs indicated that the recent floods were having a negative impact on their local economy,” says Ernie Goss, who chairs Creighton’s Heider College of Business and leads the RMI. [node:read-more:link]

As devastating images of the 2019 Midwest floods fade from view, an insidious and longer-term problem is emerging across its vast plains: The loss of topsoil that much of the nation’s food supply relies on. Today, Midwest farmers are facing millions of bushels of damaged crops such as soybean and corn. [node:read-more:link]

High-paying blue-collar jobs lifted incomes in West Virginia, New York and Illinois last year, even though the states lost residents, while farmers and government workers shared the pain of more stagnant income in Nebraska, Maryland and Washington, D.C.The new per-capita income numbers show how national policies and international markets directly affect state and local pocketbooks. Deregulation in the United States and a heat wave in China boosted coal demand in West Virginia, for example, while overseas mining and farming led to more giant truck manufacturing in Illinois. [node:read-more:link]

A recent New York Times opinion piece suggested that no one knows how stop the undermining of rural America from economic forces. While these forces have driven a growing divide between urban and rural communities, we can’t allow the past or the scale of the challenge deter from incremental progress or big ideas.It is time to have a serious and thoughtful discussion about the issues that are affecting small towns across this country. In an era of fragmentation, isolation and divisiveness, it is easy to discount rural communities and the people who live in them. [node:read-more:link]