The rural crisis in Minnesota: Identifying social and economic vulnerability and new directions for the future

Abstract

The rural crisis of the 1980s is described in terms of the economic and social vulnerability of rural farm areas. The crisis is shown spreading from farms through families to rural communities, schools, churches, counties and beyond. Rural communities are shown to be undergoing dramatic and non-cyclical change. Criteria are defined to identify rural counties vulnerable to further economic losses and include: dependence on agriculture for jobs, inadequate off farm income, population losses, declines in residential and commercial property value, and county fiscal crises due to loss of the tax base, delinquincies, and additional federal and state program changes and cutbacks. Social and economic distress are so extensive as to overwhelm conventional emergency intervention efforts to provide food, shelter, access to health care, and professional counseling. Peer support programs have been found to be effective at reaching farm families and helping them seek out the assistance of farm financial advisors, counselors, food shelves, and public assistance. Emerging attempts to link politically contending parties are discussed, specifically the Reinvest in Minnesota Coalition and the Rural Strategy Task Force consisting of major farm, church, and lending organizations. A strategy process and stakeholder analysis for local communities are presented together with recommendations for action that include creating a rural trend watch capability.