PUBLICATIONS

  1. First Nations Development Institute Releases Second Quarterly Results from Monitoring Food Prices, Indicating that American Indians and Alaska Natives Continue to Pay Higher Costs

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) – as part of its work to combat food insecurity, eliminate food inequities, and support economic and business development in Native American communities – recently released the second quarterly results on food prices on Lower 48 reservations and in Alaska Native villages. First Nations is in the process of a 12-month study on food prices in tribal communities. Preliminary results for tribal communities in the contiguous United States indicate that for the second quarter Native shoppers paid on average $8.26 more for a basket of items. Similarly, in Alaska Native villages, shoppers on average paid $33.32 more when compared to the national average for the same basket of food items. To review the First Quarter 2017 findings, click here. To see a news release about the original Indian Country Food Price Index from July 2016, go here.

  1. Low education rural counties have worse economic outcomes on average than other rural counties

Rural (nonmetro) counties with the lowest levels of educational attainment face worse economic outcomes on average than other rural counties. ERS classifies 467 counties as “low education” counties—those where at least 20 percent of working-age adults (ages 25 to 64) do not have a high school diploma or equivalent; nearly 80 percent of these counties are rural. About 40 percent of low education rural counties are also persistent poverty counties, with poverty rates of 20 percent or higher since 1980. Between 2011 and 2015, low education rural counties had an average poverty rate of 24 percent, compared to 16 percent for all other rural counties. Low education rural counties also had a higher average child poverty rate on average (34 percent) than for all other rural counties (23 percent). In addition, the unemployment rate of low education rural counties was about a percentage point higher.

  1. Manufacturing employment declines were highest in the Eastern United States between 2001 and 2015

Manufacturing provides more jobs in rural America than many other sectors. In 2015, rural manufacturing jobs totaled 2.5 million, compared to 1.4 million farm jobs. Rural manufacturing jobs were also about equal to rural retail jobs, almost double rural construction jobs, and five times rural mining (including oil and gas extraction) jobs. However, U.S. manufacturing employment has been declining since the 1950s. Between 2001 and 2015—a period that included the recessions of 2001 and 2007-09—manufacturing employment fell by close to 30 percent. In addition, 71 percent of U.S. counties experienced a decline in manufacturing employment. Counties with the largest relative declines were concentrated in the Eastern United States, the traditional hub of U.S. manufacturing. In 2015, almost 20 percent of manufacturing jobs were located in rural counties. Factors such as globalization and rapid changes in technology have contributed to the decline in U.S. manufacturing employment.

  1. Different forms of outreach can increase farmer participation in County Committee elections

County Committees (COC) are critical to the delivery of farm support programs and make numerous program decisions, such as whether or not a producer is in compliance with the program’s eligibility requirements. However, participation in COC elections have declined over time. An ERS experiment tested the impact of using different forms of outreach on voter participation during the 2015 COC elections. Some voters received ballots with information about candidates printed on the outside. Other voters received postcards with deadlines and candidate information. A third group of voters received both, and a baseline group received neither. Compared to the baseline, the experiment found that printing candidate information on the outside of the ballot plus sending postcards increased voter participation by nearly 3 percent. This information may offer a relatively low-cost outreach strategy to encourage participation in future elections.

  1. The share of beginning midsize farms held steady from 2005 to 2014

The aging of the overall farm population raises questions about whether there are enough beginning farms to replace those that exit farming. Between 2005 and 2014, the share of beginning farms generally declined across all farm sizes, though overall farm numbers were relatively steady during this period. A beginning farm is one where all operators have 10 years or less farming experience. Very-low sales farms—those with annual gross cash farm income (GCFI) under $10,000—had the most beginning farms across these years, but also saw the greatest decline: from 27 percent in 2005 to 24 percent in 2014. By comparison, the share of beginning midsize farms—those with GCFI between $350,000 and $999,999—hovered around 9 percent during this period. In 2014, that represented about 12,000 midsize farms.

  1. Almost three-fourths of the average dollar Americans spend eating out covers restaurant services

Rising prices for farm commodities generally have a larger impact on grocery store price tags than on restaurant menus. The reason? Different cost structures, as shown by ERS’s Food Dollar Series. This series apportions total annual expenditures by U.S. consumers on domestically-produced food and beverages to 12 industry groups based on the value added by each industry. In 2015, farm production and agribusiness industries accounted for 13.8 cents of the food-at-home dollar (foods and beverages purchased from grocery stores and other retailers) and 3.2 cents of the food-away-from-home dollar (foods and beverages from fine dining establishments, fast casual chains, and coffee shops). Thus, grocery store prices are more closely connected to farm prices than restaurant prices. The largest share of the away-from-home food dollar—72.3 cents in 2015—was spent on the services provided by restaurants, including the labor of baristas, bakers, and busboys. Sixty-two percent of this value added by foodservice establishments (44.7 cents) covered the salaries and benefits of employees involved in preparing and serving meals and cleaning up afterwards.

  1. Adults in households with more severe food insecurity are more likely to have a chronic disease

ERS researchers recently examined the association of food security status with 10 chronic diseases in working-age adults living in households with incomes at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level. They looked at the prevalence of the chronic diseases across four levels of household food security, ranging from high food security (household had no problems or anxiety about consistently obtaining adequate food) to very low food security (eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake was reduced). The researchers discovered that adults in households that were less food secure were significantly more likely to have one or more chronic diseases and the likelihood increased as food insecurity worsened. Low-income adults in households with very low food security were 40 percent more likely to have one or more of the chronic diseases examined than low-income adults with high food security. Moreover, the researchers found that food insecurity status was a stronger predictor of chronic illness than income for low-income working age adults.

  1. In recent years, population has declined in rural areas

Population change includes two major components: natural change (births minus deaths) and net migration (in-migrants minus out-migrants). While natural change has gradually trended downward over time, net migration rates tend to fluctuate in response to economic conditions. Population growth from natural change (more births than deaths, also known as natural increase) was the norm historically. Between 2010 and 2016, however, the increase in rural population from natural change (270,000 more births than deaths) has not kept pace with the decrease in population from net migration (462,000 more people moved out than moved in). Declining birth rates, increasing mortality rates among working-age adults, and an aging population have led to the emergence of natural decrease (more deaths than births) in hundreds of U.S. counties—most of them rural.

EVENTS/LEARNING

  1. 5 Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Youth in Rural Communities

Join us for a free webinar, 5 Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Youth in Rural Communities, on Thursday, September 28, 2017, from Noon to 1:00 p.m. There are a number of things that local government officials can do to help their communities retain youth. The webinar, presented by Pam Schallhorn, Community and Economic Development Educator, University of Illinois Extension, will be based on research done at the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Lincoln, Nebraska over the last decade, and will provide strategies communities can use to get young people to stay in their communities or return after college. There is no cost to attend the webinar, however pre-registration is required.  Register online or contact Nancy Ouedraogo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  1. Grants Under First Nations' Native Arts Initiative
    First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) has launched a new Supporting Native Arts grant opportunity under its Native Arts Initiative (formerly known as the “Native Arts Capacity Building Initiative” or NACBI). Applications are due by Thursday, October 19, 2017. The Request for Proposals for the Supporting Native Arts grant opportunity can be accessed here. First Nations invites interested applicants to join one or all of our Application Q&A webinars, which will be held prior to October 19, 2017, as follows: