Reports & Publications

The Center for Rural Affairs' Small Business News includes select success stories on Nebraska entrepreneurs assisted by our programs and information that you may need to start or grow your business.

This edition starts with a story about Josie Vitosh, the recipient of our first home loan. I very much enjoyed meeting Josie and telling her story. By providing a way for her to buy the little blue house, we help one more individual stay in a rural community, and in this case, a hometown that means so much. This is just the start of an exciting new area of work.

Food insecurity does not occur in a vacuum; it occurs, and persists, in relation to certain contextual factors in the communities where it is present. Naturally, where unemployment is high, where the local economy is weak, where fresh food is hard to access, and where social ties are unstable, food insecurity will be higher.

Establecido en: 2015 Tipo de granjas: Vegetal Número de miembros: Actualmente tenemos tres miembros, pero el número ha oscilado entre tres y cinco agricultores a lo largo de los años. Somos una cooperativa informal.

Establecida: 2015 Tipo de granjas: Producción animal, con variedad de cortes de carne Información de miembro: Actualmente 40 granjas, pero comenzó con solo siete. Base de operaciones en Clinton, Arkansas, pero las granjas con membresia estan ubicadas en todo el país y el personal corporativo trabaja de forma remota. Se agregan nuevas granjas como miembros dependiendo de la demanda del mercado.

Iowa state Rep. Chad Ingels joins Center for Rural Affairs Policy Associate Cody Smith to discuss strategies to build resilient rural communities. Rep. Ingels represents House District 64, which includes all of Fayette County and much of Buchanan County. Some communities in this district include...

Nathan Beacom, senior policy associate for the Center for Rural Affairs, is joined by Nebraska state Sen. John McCollister and Amanda Sindelar, economic development director for the City of Atkinson, to discuss issues surrounding food access in rural areas and Legislative Bill 108, which aims to...

Buying locally produced food has a host of benefits for Nebraska: It is fresher, healthier, and more flavorful, it strengthens the local economy, and it is better for the environment. Dollars spent on local foods stay in our communities, helping our small businesses and small farms while supporting...

In this edition, we chose stories to highlight our core value of “Citizen involvement and ACTION to shape the future.” All I have to say is, “Wow!” I wish we could highlight all of you, but we just don’t have room.

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative, established in 2015, is an animal production cooperative. Currently, it has 40 farms, but started with only seven. Its base of operations is in Clinton, Arkansas, but member farms are located across the country and corporate staff work remotely. New member farms are added based on market demand.

Tiny Farms Group, established in 2015, is an informal vegetable cooperative. They currently have three members.

Businesses with just a handful of employees make communities feel like home. These mom-and-pop shops—many microenterprises—are a good example of the neighbors-serving-neighbors spirit found in rural areas. The small enterprises are also an important part of the rural economy, something government...

The Center for Rural Affairs' Small Business News includes select success stories on Nebraska entrepreneurs assisted by our programs and information that you may need to start or grow your business.

Iowa is in the middle of an unprecedented boom in solar energy at all levels. Utility-scale solar, the largest type of project, is defined as a solar energy system with enough capacity to produce electricity to sell to energy providers, not to directly supply end-use customers. As of 2018, the...

After working several years for Buenos Días Nebraska, a Spanish newspaper in Grand Island, Nebraska, Norma’s boss offered to sell her the business. Norma jumped at the opportunity to own the newspaper. She has been the proud owner since 2016.

The Nebraska Advantage Microenterprise Tax Credit program is designed for and only available to small business owners in Nebraska. It is a refundable tax credit for up to $20,000. Are you eligible? All applicants must be actively involved in the daily operations of the business and have five or...

Hope you’re hanging in there. In this edition of our newsletter, we are looking forward to starting 2021 off on the right foot. In this issue, we chose stories to highlight our core value of “Citizen INVOLVEMENT and action to shape the future.”

Lakehouse Farm is a small, diversified organic produce farm with an emphasis on summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes).

Senior Policy Associate Nathan Beacom talks with Sen. Tom Brandt and others from the industry about the growing interest in Nebraska for ways to make our meat industry work better, including a bill before the Legislature that will support small businesses in the meat sector.

In the virtual town hall, Trenton Buhr, policy associate for the Center for Rural Affairs, Jim Reiff, executive director of the Nebraska Enterprise Fund in Oakland, and Andrea McClintic, executive director of Dawson Area Development in Lexington discuss and take questions about the Nebraska...