The Status of Rural America – "Crafting a Competitive Future", a new report from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines

Crafting a Competitive Future, a new report from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, looks at strategic options for revitalizing rural America.

The report’s guiding principles include:

1) Focus on opportunities, not problems;

2) Look internally and connect regionally rather than searching for external solutions;

3) Identify and replicate success stories.

The report also calls for a new institutional framework to direct rural development efforts.

Summary:

Most people, businesses and government
agencies perceive the economy of rural
America as being the same as the agricultural
economy. This view is only natural, given the
history of the United States, beginning with
the continuous westward push of hearty
farming families and continuing through the
creation of the unparalleled U.S. prowess of
agricultural production in the 20th century.
Notwithstanding agriculture’s enduring
importance in the American experience, the
agricultural economy has witnessed
enormous changes.

New cultivation methods
along with long-term productivity increases
continue to reduce the need for agricultural
labor. The emergence of truly global
agricultural supply networks has established
new sources of competition. The introduction
of new technologies stimulates ongoing
transformations in business models. These
forces and impacts are not limited to
agriculture, but also apply to manufacturing
and other sectors.

The bottom line is that as
these economic structures and activities
evolve, our perceptions and approaches for
regions that host them must undergo
commensurate changes.

Rather than viewing rural America as synonymous with “agriculture,” it is
important to delve into the modern components of the rural economy.

From today’s perspective, rural regions enjoy a number of strengths or
“assets” on which to build strategies for the future. They also face several
important challenges or “liabilities” in their efforts to prosper in a changing country and world.

Full Report: http://www.fhlbdm.com/Docs/About_Us/PF/SRIReport_FINAL.pdf