Rural advocate: Summit must be beginning, not end, of Obama plan for rural America

Last week's Rural Summit held by the Obama administration in Hillsboro, Mo., has been described by some as the culmination of the administration's Rural Tour, but the event must demonstrate more than good faith, writes one rural advocate. "Will the Administration be able to deliver on its good intentions?" asks Timothy Collins, assistant director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University, in the Daily Yonder. "If not, it won’t be for lack of effort." The summit began with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack outlining the framework for a potential rural revitalization bill, garnered from information learned on USDA's 2009 Rural Tour.

"Vilsack hoped the Rural Summit would gain the attention of urban and suburban residents so they will appreciate rural America’s contributions to the economy, water conservation, energy, and to the nation’s values," Collins writes. "According to Vilsack, revitalizing rural America is not only about job creation. It’s also about water, which carries an obligation for rural landowners." Vilsack said the rural revitalization bill would expand on current initiatives including foreign trade, biotechnology, the "Feed the Future Initiative," the "Know Your Farmer Know Your Food" program, biofuels, renewable energy, 21st century infrastructure, forestry, outdoor recreation, and conservation.

"The Rural Summit illustrated the Administration’s rural priorities and the complexity of rural issues and opportunities," Collins writes. "The subtext of [Vilsack's] remarks throughout the day was that farms, towns and regions needed to cooperate in order for rural areas to compete in a global political economy." Vilsack ended with a promise the summit would "not [be] the end of the conversation," and Collins writes we'll soon know if that's true as USDA's good intentions shift to action. (Read more)