The Report by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity was presented today to the President by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. The Report contains 5 key Calls to Action that include in turn over 100 recommendations to help improve rural infrastructure and quality of life for over 46 million Americans. We are still digesting the recommendations, but one area in particular stands out to us: we are greatly encouraged by a key focus area within the Economic Development Call to Action for added focus on access to capital by small rural-based businesses: "Access to capital to support investments in entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth may be more daunting in rural areas where fewer alternatives to conventional bank loans exist, relative to urban areas, which also have easier access to venture capital, angel investing, and emerging crowd-sourcing models." The actual report, video and supporting materials can be found via the following link:
https://www.usda.gov/ruralprosperity | Rural Prosperity Report