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Merrigan announces investment in Rural America

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan Thursday announced 86 projects that are getting loans and grants to do rural development. Following the announcement, Merrigan told Brownfield that the department is thinking not only of farmers and ranchers, but of the communities where they live.

“If you get a little boost in farm income, that’s great, but if you don’t have access to health care and have rural school and the library, maybe a little bit of a Main Street, your children are not going to want to stay in Rural America,” says Merrigan, about investing in rural development. “We’re seeing that out-migration now, which is heartbreaking and nation-threatening.”

Merrigan made the announcement during a speech to the Agricultural Business Council in Kansas City. In their September Issues Forum, the Council discussed agricultural sustainability, about which Merrigan pointed out that U.S. farmers and ranchers are good land stewards. She says they used to contribute to declining wetland acres and a loss of wildlife habitat.

“Boy, oh boy, have we seen a turnaround there,” says Merrigan. “Agriculture has protected and invested so much in wildlife habitat and wetlands; it’s a reversal of fortune, it’s been terrific.”

Merrigan says it continues to be an uphill climb to educate U.S. consumers about what it takes to get food on the table.

AUDIO: Kathleen Merrigan (5 min. MP3)