Here are a few interesting blogs and online articles published this week that relate to Rural Small Business, ending January 24, 2009:
The U.S. House passed an $819 billion stimulus plan this week, part of the economic stabilization plan to restart the US economy. The New Mexico Business Weekly analyzes the Stimulus package from a small business point of view. The proposed bill includes incentives to hire veterans and eight other targeted groups.
A blog maintained by the University of Illinois Extension, The Farm Gate – Where Farm Decision-Makers Start Their Day, provides a great summary of where rural America might expect to see funds allocated. Farm Gate states that “$100 million will be appropriated to spur $2 billion in loans and grants to rural businesses which have been hampered with tight credit,” and that the stimulus bill has allocated $2.8 billion for loans and grants to expand broadband Internet service to rural areas.
More than $27 billion will be allotted to food and agriculture, but 78% of those funds are for nutrition programs, including food stamps. Conservation projects in rural areas that include watershed, dams and floodplains are included in other parts of the stimulus package. Read more at The Farm Gate.
Looking at my posts, it’s been a decidedly political week here for me on Backroads Business, too. You can take a look at the President’s Agenda for Rural Business, as well as my take on how reducing postal mail delivery to five days of the week may affect rural small business owners. And if you want a totally different perspective from what you hear in your own community, visit this newspaper in Great Britain and you’ll be assured we’re not alone.
What does rural America have left to lose in this recession, when we’ve already lost so much? Quite a lot, if you read this article which focuses on North Carolina. But odds are you’ll see your own rural area in almost every sentence and statistic.
The Morris SunTribune in Morris, Minnesota provides thoughtful commentary on Congressional health care reform discussions and the effect on Rural America. Since the rural economy depends more on small business and self employment than urban areas, health care legislation should pay particular attention to the challenges of obtaining insurance coverage in rural areas. Rural Americans are more often under-insured and more dependent on the individual insurance market. This forces them to often pay more for less coverage, and can force small businesses to drop health coverage for their employees and themselves.
On a subject near and dear to many of us in rural America, I found a great article this week entitled “Organic Food – Why we grow it, sell it, and eat it, and how it can help save our world,“ written by Dave Ring, owner of a small business himself (an organic food store).
Here’s how organic agriculture can improve a local economy:
“From an economic standpoint, local farmers get a higher share of the consumer’s money spent on food. This means that money is recirculated locally and not removed from the community. Because the food is local, there is less transportation time to get the food to market and this means less cost and fresher food for consumers.
Probably the biggest impact local organic farming can have on a community is the creation of jobs. Organic farming can be more labor intensive, so job creation is part of the process of building a local sustainable food system. Local organic farming is probably one of the best business models when it comes to building strong middle class independent businesses. These are the types of businesses that help grow and sustain a community.”
Read much more here.
