The U.S. Department of Agriculture is undertaking a new agricultural census this month. IL Corn encourages you to complete the census fully and accurately as the data is used in many ways. There is no generally acceptable substitute for this information. Census-type information from rural areas is used in many ways, including distributing federal monies to underserved areas. Rural America is experiencing some significant changes. Education/health, trade/transportation/utilities, and leisure/hospitality are now the primary employment sectors. Additionally, rural poverty rates remain higher than urban poverty rates, underscoring the importance of support programs like SNAP, school lunches, and WIC, all of which are funded in the Farm Bill. The Agriculture Department annually captures a snapshot of population and economic trends in rural America, as well as highlights of topical matter. The 2017 edition of "Rural America at a Glance" is no exception. Rod Bain and a USDA economic researcher go inside the numbers of this year's "Rural America at a Glance" in this edition of "Agriculture USA".
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