Freezing temperatures, swirling winds and snow didn’t stop about 90 people from coming out and sharing their ideas with the USDA about how the agency can best create jobs and economic development in rural communities. The North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota offices of USDA Rural Development and the Farm Service Agency hosted a tri-state rural jobs and economic development forum on January 6 at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton.

Congressman Early Pomeroy of North Dakota attended the forum and provided opening remarks. “I want to hear people’s ideas on how public dollars can best be spent to increase job opportunities in our rural communities,” Pomeroy said. “Strategies need to be sharp, focused and effective.”

Healthcare, access to capital and innovation were three key issues that a six-person panel and audience members felt needed to be addressed in order to get the rural economy headed in the right direction.

Panel members consisted of representatives from the fields of renewable energy, banking, labor, healthcare, manufacturing and American Indian economic development. The audience was made up of a broad range of interests, including farmers, mayors, and economic developers.

“Our biggest challenge is healthcare,” said panel member John Riskey, a mayor and BCTGM union president. “Right now healthcare costs prevent businesses from hiring more employees and force them to work existing employees overtime because it’s cheaper than hiring more help.”

A lively discussion also centered on the issue of access to credit and capital in rural areas.

“We need to do things to enhance the incentives for existing businesses to expand,” said panel member Jan Lundebecht, president of First Security Bank in Benson, Minn. “They’ve proven that they can succeed and they’re the ones that will keep providing jobs in the long term.”

An audience member also suggested that Rural Development examine the possibility of adding a direct business and industry loan program to complement its existing guaranteed business and industry loan program. The audience member said the combination of direct and guaranteed financing works very well in the community facilities program and should be tried in the business and industry program.

Panel member DelRay German, TERO director for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, said that America needs to get back to doing what made it great in the first place: Innovate.

“If people have a little appetite for innovation, you need to whet it, you need to draw it out of them,” German said. “How can community leaders help people be more innovative again?”

A mayor in the audience also stressed the importance of focusing on research and development. He said the innovation and investment we seek to help turn around our economy won’t happen unless government, banks and organizations figure out ways to fund research and development efforts.

The tri-state forum was an excellent opportunity for the USDA to work regionally and bring a diverse group of people together to collect valuable feedback on the rural economy. North Dakota Rural Development state director Jasper Schneider considered the forum a success, but realizes that the hard work has just begun in helping the rural economy rebound.

“I want to thank everyone for braving the weather and participating,” Schneider said. “We heard a lot of good ideas and we’re going to be sharing each and every one with President Obama and the Administration. I hope we can continue to do similar forums in the future and hear directly from the people that use and benefit from the many USDA programs.”

Submitted by USDA Rural Development State Directors:

Jasper Schneider, North Dakota

Elsie Meeks, South Dakota

Colleen Landkamer, Minnesota

For a list of scheduled jobs meetings by state or to learn more, go to the Rural Development and FSA Job Roundtables Schedule, and the News Release, “USDA to Host Roundtables on Jobs, Economic Growth”.

Labor, banking, local government and development officials joined representatives from USDA in Guam last month for a jobs forum, one of a number scheduled across America.  The Obama Administration, through USDA Rural Development and Farm Service Agency staff, is seeking comments from Americans in all walks of life, including small business owners and local leaders following a jobs summit at the White House in December.

Those participating noted that Guam’s economy is separate from the United States, and closely tied to Japan’sas well as to other Asian markets.  Transportation costs are high.  For example, the island of Rota is just 18 miles from Guam, but those speaking said the cost of shipping between the islands is the same as the cost of shipping from California to Guam.

Officials were told that Guam needs a supply of skilled labor and more training opportunities. On the plus side, military activity and service businesses, like restaurants, are economic drivers. Topics that were discussed to boost the economy include promoting a “buy local” movement, developing agricultural products for local residents to buy and eat, improving inter-island infrastructure and becoming a regional educational and business hub.

The comments received at the meeting, and those posted on the USDA blog, will be provided to USDA and White House officials for review.  USDA officials in Hawaii conducted a jobs meeting yesterday (Wednesday) and another is set for tomorrow (Friday).

For a list of scheduled jobs meetings by state or to learn more, go to the Rural Development and FSA Job Roundtables Schedule, and the News Release, “USDA to Host Roundtables on Jobs, Economic Growth”.

USDA’s Rural Development and Farm Service Agency hosted a Jobs and Economic Growth Forum on January 5, 2010 at the Rutgers EcoComplex in Bordentown, NJ.   USDA was asked to lead the effort to listen to community leaders, non-profit organizations, business owners, economists, federal, state and local officials on how to stimulate job creation in New Jersey.  This Forum followed the lead of President Obama’s December 3, 2009 Roundtable discussion.

We were very pleased and fortunate to have Senator Bob Menendez and Congressman John Adler present to address the diverse audience of over 50 attendees.  Both Senator Menendez and Congressman Adler offered specific thoughts on plans for economic growth.  Providing keynote addresses were New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher, nationally renowned Economists Dr. James Hughes and Dr. Joe Seneca from Rutgers University as well as Brian Schilling of the Food Policy Institute of Rutgers University.  The agricultural community and rural interests were also well represented at the Forum.  Everyone shared their thoughts on ways to improve the economy and how their organization may be able to partner with other organizations to further this initiative.

Major obstacles to economic growth, such as lack of capital for small businesses, tax and regulatory requirements and lack of a skilled workforce, were discussed.  Innovative ideas to lead to job creation were presented.

We want to thank all those that attended for their participation and give a special thanks to Rutgers University for providing the facilities for this great event.

To learn more, go to the Rural Development and FSA Job Roundtables Schedule, and the News Release, “USDA to Host Roundtables on Jobs, Economic Growth”.

By Howard Henderson, NJ State Director, USDA Rural Development

Oklahomans gathered in Muskogee, Oklahoma on Tuesday to kick off 2010 by accepting President Obama’s invitation to participate in the development of the next step in his administration’s strategy to create jobs and promote economic growth.  Nearly 50 people joined together on the first business day of 2010 to participate in USDA’s Jobs and Economic Growth Forum.  The forum was organized to offer Oklahomans an opportunity to respond to the seven questions posed by the President.  The group viewed a video welcome message from Deputy Secretary for USDA, Kathleen Merrigan, before delving into what proved to be a lively and productive three hour discussion.

The diversity of the issues discussed was reflective of the diversity of the attendees of the forum.  Representatives from institutions of higher education believed that a job creation and economic growth plan must offer ways to evolve or expand education and training systems to address the current needs of individuals wishing to return to the workforce.  In addition, investments must be made to expand education opportunities to growing sectors of the employment market; they reported that currently the growth is in health careers.

Representatives of youth organizations shared their belief that investing time and resources in the development of youth, especially through programs such as 4-H, FFA, and Junior Achievement type programs, has proven to be beneficial in fostering a good work ethic and developing essential skills to succeed.  Small business owners and technical assistance providers shared their concerns regarding resources available to small businesses as well as infrastructure requirements and availability of technology required to make rural areas competitive.   Representatives of the agriculture industry echoed the need to stimulate job creation stating that agriculture is dependent on off-farm income and on the support of viable communities.  Several elected officials expressed concerns and offered suggestion from their legislative perspectives.

We were very pleased with the group’s participation.  The sincere commitment to work together as Oklahomans to seek solutions to the current economic challenges was evident throughout the forum.  We plan to submit Oklahoma’s answers to the President’s seven questions, as gleaned from the discussion, to US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for inclusion in his final report to the White House.

Ryan McMullen

Oklahoma State Director, Rural Development

Francie Tolle
State Director, Farm Service Agency

State Representative Mike Brown – shares that in the current economic conditions, businesses are reluctant to add employees or expand.

Oklahoma State Director Ryan McMullen addressing the group.

Representatives from the Muscogee Creek Nation (Robert Miller-L black jacket, Claude Sumner-R red jacket) Expressing concerns about the rates and terms associated with obtaining credit.

Nearly every seat in the Edmunds Conference Center at Northern Maine Community College, in Presque Isle was filled January 5^th for the USDA Community Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth in Maine’s largest and most northern county. The seventeen inches of snow that fell in previous days did not dissuade from excellent attendance at the Forum. In addition to the 50 people seated at the Forum, another 15 people joined the discussion from video-teleconference sites in Houlton and Madawaska, bringing the number of participants to 65. This forum was a follow-up on the Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth held by President Obama on December 3, in Washington.

It was my privilege to welcome the crowd, which featured local economic and community development leaders, college and university presidents, business owners, agricultural producers, and Congressional Staff. The Forum was hosted at Northern Maine Community College and included presentations from USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director, Donovan Todd, III, and Northern Maine Community College President, Timothy Crowley; as well as local guest speakers Maine Public Service Company President and CEO, Brent Boyles; Northern Maine Development Commission Executive Director, Robert Clark; and Aurora Mills Owner, Matt Williams.

The important conversations shared among participants centered on creating jobs, growing local businesses, opportunities for economic growth, as well as barriers that need to be addressed in order for Aroostook County to recognize its full potential for economic expansion.

The information provided from the discussion will be summarized and provided to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and President Obama for consideration.

USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel welcomes a crowd
of 65 at Maine’s January 5th USDA Community Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth

By USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel

By Aneesh Chopra – Federal Chief Technology Officer

Yesterday the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a workshop to gather insight from leading experts in the fields of gaming and technology to inform the development of a nutrition game-design challenge. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services is preparing to launch the Innovations for Healthy Kids Challenge, a call to American entrepreneurs, software developers, and students to use a recently released USDA nutrition data set to create innovative, fun, and engaging web-based learning applications that motivate kids, especially “tweens” (aged 9-12) and their parents, to eat more healthfully and be more physically active.

Thirty-one experts joined the meeting—some via teleconference—to offer their knowledge and experience related to game design, entertainment technology, social media, and skill contests, in reaction to a previously circulated concept paper outlining key components of the contest.

Our intention here is to invite you to join this discussion. Here are some of the major design-related themes, that emerged from the Workshop, around which we’d like to get input from you:

• Goal: We discussed the potential for games – powered by nutrition data – to change behavior in our target segment (“tweens” between the ages of 9-12 and their parents). Design questions focused on whether the contest should result in a finished, high-impact game or one that continually evolves over time (“gaming as a service”). How would you recommend we address this question in the design of our contest?

• Incentives: We discussed government limitations on the size of the prize ($3,000 – a purse we’ve awarded in public service announcement contests as well). Design questions focused on the degree to which other stakeholders might supplement the prize with privately raised funds; develop new markets for educational games, including schools, parents, and after-school programs; and recognize finalists at the White House or other venues. What incentives would you recommend we deploy to maximize high quality participation?

• Final Product: We acknowledged a spectrum of potential final products– including “back of the envelope” ideas, game story boards, working prototypes, and market-ready “final” products. In addition, we discussed the possibility of multiple phases to capture the breadth and quality of potential submissions (perhaps an early round seeking top ideas/story boards to be developed into games in round two). How should we design the competition in a manner that inspires and empowers both professionals willing to volunteer hours to the competition and students willing to build a game that doubles as a semester class assignment? How do we address the myriad game product categories – from casual games to fully developed titles?

• Your Commitment: A great deal of the conversation focused on how individuals might complement the official competition with commitments they could offer from their respective positions – whether it would be incorporating nutrition data in already-developed games, faculty assigning class time towards building nutrition games, or organizations spreading the word about the contest. How might you be willing to help? Please post any commitments your firm, foundation, school or other organization might be willing to offer as we build a national movement to address childhood obesity.

Thank you in advance for your ideas on these important questions.

Aneesh Chopra is Chief Technology Officer of the United States