Posts Tagged ‘Daily Yonder’

What’s going on with Job Growth in Rural South Dakota?

December 15th, 2009

Last week I published a post about a study claiming that rural communities were more “prosperous” than most people believe (click here to view a map detailing which counties the study considers prosperous).  The study used a non-traditional means of measuring prosperity (it didn’t include income and population growth as factors), which explains why some of the communities deemed prosperous could have stagnant economies and outmigration. 

Today, however, we have additional research suggesting that much of America’s western Heartland has fared well in terms of job losses during the economic down turn.

In an article titled “Location, Location, Location,” Daily Yonder reporters Bill Bishop and Roberto Gallardo note severe job losses in rural Alabama (and the Southeast US) and rural Michigan (and the eastern Midwest) from December 2007 until October 2009.

Most of us are aware of the automobile industry’s impact on job losses in Michigan and Ohio, but the Daily Yonder article highlights the industries demise is also affecting rural Alabama. 

I appreciated that the article provided a link to the data (in an Excel spreadsheet) used in generating this report.  I downloaded information for South Dakota and then segregated the ten “most urban” counties from the remaining rural counties. Click here to download my spreadsheet. (See note at bottom for my definition of “most urban”). 

It was interesting to note that the “most urban” counties in SD lost 680 jobs, while the remaining rural counties gained 1787.  This surprised me.  Can small, rural communities in SD be doing better than their more urban counterparts?

We know that many of our midsized communities in SD have struggled with manufacturing loses, but I’d be interested in understanding more about what’s going on.  How is it that the smaller rural counties have fared better in employment terms?  If you have thoughts on the issue, I’d be interested in hearing them.  

Note:  While all of SD, except Sioux Falls and Rapid City are generally considered rural, I identified the 10 most urban counties by nine largest communities and then added Lincoln to the list because of its relationship to Sioux Falls.

Map Source: Bill Bishop and Roberto Gallardo @ The Daily Yonder

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Posted in Economic Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (2)

A reminder to thank the farmers

November 27th, 2008

As we sit down at the Thanksgiving table, tradition requires many of us to offer a prayer of thankgiving for the food we are about to eat and the farmers who produced it.   In these tough economic times, however, I’m afraid that people are often blaming farmers rather than thanking them.

And why shouldn’t the public blame farmers?  For most of the year, the media has publicized record corn prices, creating the perception that farmers are rolling in the dough while the rest of us struggle.  This perception is reinforced every time we go to the grocery store and experience higher food prices first-hand.  It’s tough not to feel that farmers are flourishing while many American are struggling.

Any feelings of jealousy I might have been harboring towards farmers were washed away this morning as the Daily Yonder reminded me of how little of the costs of my thanksgiving meal reaches the farmer’s bank account.  Citing the National Farmers Union and the US Department of Agriculture, the Yonder tells us that:

80% of the cost of food goes for off farm costs, such as marketing, processing, wholesaling, retailing and the cost of those feeding stations that crop up in food stores these days.

There it is in a simple, plain language:  If 80% of food costs go to non-farm activities, then farmers don’t deserve all of the blame for rising food prices.  It’s a lot more complicated than that.

So before digging into your meal today, I ask you to say a prayer of thanks for farmers.  And if anyone at your table complains about the rising cost of food and blames the farmers, I hope you will tune them in Daily Yonder’s article and other links I offer below. 

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Posted in Agriculture, Rural | Comments (0)