Rural Development

Piloted in Minnesota, the Rural Climate Dialogues began from the idea that rural citizens hold the solutions for addressing climate change in their communities. Our intensive work in three communities (Winona, Grand Rapids and Morris) has been globally recognized by the International Association for Public Participation as a creative and innovative form of community engagement that is empowering rural communities to take leadership in the transition to clean energy. 

There could be billions of dollars coming for conservation: What does that mean for rural communities?

Congress and the Biden administration are working on a sweeping infrastructure package known as the American Jobs Plan. This package is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix what’s broken in the United States, create good-paying jobs, combat the climate crisis and invest in rural places. In order to be truly transformative for farm country, specific investments need to be made.

Calls for the Biden administration to prioritize our water infrastructure

Last week, IATP joined Food and Water Action and nearly 550 other national and regional organizations including Action Center on Race and The Economy, Center for Biological Diversity and Corporate Accountability in support of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act.

The Rural Climate Dialogues

Climate change offers an opportunity to engage differently with rural communities in a way that focuses on solutions rather than assigning blame. Instead of trying to “sell” climate policy to rural communities, we must engage organizations and leaders rooted in rural areas in the development stage to identify solutions that work for them. As important, we need community-level engagement tools designed to overcome our current toxic political environment and map out rural-appropriate responses to climate change that feed up into policy and concrete action.

Farmers and Ranchers Deliver Letter to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and farmers and ranchers from across the country delivered a letter to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (Select Committee), urging Congress to support and invest in farming and rural communities to address the climate crisis.