Rural Capital Network Blog: Posts

The politics of the past has no place in this economy. Local competion between rural communities, organizations, lenders and regions have us competing with each other rather than globally. Agriculture and rural communities are dependent on each other. In fact, rural communities are very important to agriculture's success. 82% of all rural income is from non-farm sources. However, the overall population in rural America is shrinking, making local competition even more harmful. When local communities, organizations, lenders and regions work together, they build critical mass to compete globally. The last 18 months has taught us all that the economy is unpredictable and more volatile ahead. We need to lean on each other in rural America to withstand the volatility. None of us are big enough to withstand the ups and downs alone. Sharing risks and opportunities will be key. Every pro sports team needs enough players to compete. They also need great talent and a great game plan. We are losing players in rural America. We need to make sure we have the critical mass to compete. We will find the critical mass to compete globally when we focus on collaborating with others in our regions and industries. When we compete with each other, we fail. No teams succeed when teammates compete against each other in a game. We need some new teammates in rural America. The politics of local competition focuses our efforts on beating each other rather than winning globally. If the politics of the past can't be changed now, it will be difficult to compete globally in rural America.