Vilsack says he will seek to reduce the number of federal definitions of 'rural,' says USDA has 11

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this week that the federal government has so many definitions of "rural" that local officials have difficulty determining what programs apply to they communities, and he will go to the White House Rural Council to get the number of definitions reduced by Congress.

The issue came up at a Council on Foundations conference on rural philanthropy in Kansas City this week, when a participant "said that variations in qualifications for various rural development programs make it difficult for communities to participate," DTN reports. "Vilsack jokingly asked the audience if they were bothered that USDA has 11 different definitions of rural America. The varying definitions, which depend on population and other characteristics, 'provide a convenient excuse not to do something,' he said." (Read more)