From Orlando: 5 Big Changes Happening in Rural America
Yesterday afternoon I spoke to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Convention in Orlando for the last time as Secretary of Agriculture. I was grateful that more than 1,000 people, young and old, from all aspects of America’s food and agriculture system, attended the Town Hall event with AFBF president Bob Stallman and me. Looking back on our discussion, I’d say change was the dominant theme, and that makes sense because not only will my time as Agriculture Secretary come to a close as President Obama’s term ends in January 2017, but Bob’s tenure as AFBF president will end tomorrow when the organization elects a new leader after Bob’s 16-years at the helm.
Change is one of life’s certainties. Here are five big changes happening right now in rural America:
#1 To Feed the World, We Need Innovation and a New Generation of Farmers
Within my lifetime, global agriculture has experienced a trajectory of change that will be very difficult to duplicate. To feed our global population, it will take as much innovation over the next 40 years as we’ve experienced over the past 10,000 years. As I discussed yesterday in Orlando, one of the main challenges facing American agriculture is how we harness innovation to feed a growing population while ensuring our natural resources are conserved, and creating opportunities for a younger, more diverse set of Americans to enter food production. Today, the average age of the American farmer exceeds 58 years, and data shows that almost 10 percent of farmland in the continental United States will change hands in the next five years. One of the reasons we developed the New Farmers website is to help address this challenge. At www.usda.gov/newfarmers, anyone interested in a career in farming and ranching can get plugged in. Please check it out.
#2 Rural America Is the Place to Be
Each year, there are more than 58,000 jobs available in the food and agriculture sector of our economy, but our colleges and universities graduate just 35,000 young people with the qualifications needed to fill them. In other words, each year, roughly 40 percent of those jobs go unfilled. Last June, USDA reported the U.S. bio-based products industry contributed four million jobs and $369 billion to our economy in 2013 alone. A bio-based economy harnesses the power of America’s farms and forests to create new and innovative products that are used all around the world. Since 2009, USDA has invested aggressively in the bio-economy because we believe in rural communities. As a result, USDA’s BioPreferred label can be seen on more than 2,400 products, ranging from renewable cleaning products, to bio plastics, to fertilizers. Many of the business opportunities in bio-based are available in rural communities. And as one USDA research agency pointed out, with its natural beauty and advantageous culture for raising families, our rural communities are once again a destination for young families.
#3 Broadband, Broadband, Broadband
While you may not have noticed, USDA has made significant investments in the infrastructure of our rural communities, in clean energy technologies, water treatment facilities, hospitals and schools, and rural broadband. In fact, one of the most significant results we achieved last year was the completion of our broadband infrastructure investments through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA. Nearly six million Americans who live and work in rural areas now have access to new or improved high-speed internet service thanks to ARRA funding. Two-hundred-fifty-four Recovery Act broadband projects financed by USDA totaling $2.9 billion, are providing broadband service in 44 states and American Samoa, bringing high-speed Internet access to 260,000 rural households, 17,500 businesses and 1,900 community facilities.
#4 Local Food? We Did That
Another way USDA has sought to revitalize rural areas and also diversify our nation’s agriculture is by making significant investments in local and regional food systems. Since 2009, USDA has supported nearly 10,000 farms and ranches, food entrepreneurs and communities through local food-related projects. Between 2009 and 2014, USDA invested more than $800 million in more than 29,100 local and regional food businesses and infrastructure projects. As a result, the market for local food has grown to an estimated $11.7 billion in 2014 from $5 billion in 2008. The growth trend for local food opportunities remains bullish.
#5 Ensuring Everyone Has a Chance
Did you know that 85 percent of our country’s persistent poverty counties are in rural America? More than one-third of rural Americans and one in four rural children live in poverty. Later this week in Ohio, I will announce substantial new opportunities for rural areas in four states, including Ohio, through USDA’s StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative launched in 2010. StrikeForce delivers promising results through partnerships with more than 1,500 community organizations, businesses, foundations, universities, faith-based and other community groups by providing enhanced technical assistance that helps challenged communities build a future based on local assets and regional strengths. In 2015, StrikeForce technical assistance helped USDA invest over $7.5 billion to create jobs, build homes, feed kids, assist farmers and conserve natural resources in some of the nation’s most economically challenged areas. Since the initiative was launched in 2010, USDA has invested more than $23 billion in high-poverty areas. In the end, it’s about ensuring families and children have opportunities to succeed.
Cover photo: Agricuture Secretary Tom Vilsack reads notes thanking a farmer while attending the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016 in Orlando, FL.
