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. 

Don't let Big Meat eat our bumper crop

The last few years have not been good for the factory farm industry.  High prices for corn and other crops (in part driven by the growth of ethanol) made feed costs incredibly high, while at the same time, environmental and animal welfare advocates have been winning ballot and marketplace battles to shift more meat production out of intensive confinement and industrial systems.  Hog a

WEBINAR: Stevens County Rural Climate Dialogues

This past June, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the Jefferson Center co-hosted the first Rural Climate Dialogue in Morris, Minnesota. The Rural Climate Dialogues are part of an effort to spur rural leadership and build resiliency in the face of extreme weather conditions and a changing climate.

Why is the U.S. Getting in the Way of International Efforts to Make Clean Water a Basic Human Right?

On November 21, 2013 the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee (The Committee) adopted a resolution on “The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.” There, all UN member states agreed that the rights to water and sanitation are derived from the right to an adequate standard of living.

A rural response to climate change: Introducing the Rural Climate Network

The annual global climate talks are underway this week in Warsaw, Poland. The agenda for the 19th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 19) to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as the climate talks are formally called, includes discussions on “issues relating to agriculture” with climate change adaptation identified, appropriately, as a primary focus.