Survival Strategies: Comments from the Rural Iowa Summit

Here are some remarks offered by Karl Stauber, president of the Northwest Area Foundation, in his keynote address at a rural Iowa summit, "Iowa 2010: Harvesting the Vision," on August 28 at Iowa State University.

"We need to produce what consumers want and will pay a premium for, not non-specified commodities produced as cheaply as possible."

"One thing that urban people care about and rural people have is environmental quality. A critical issue in the Midwest is clean water and increasingly, suburbanites see agriculture as a source of pollution…We must demonstrate that the land is much better taken care of with us on it than with us off it."

"Rural communities can offer a way to manage growth. We need to keep 25 percent of the population here and help them be productive, profitable and successful. In Colorado, farmers and ranchers are paid to raise alfalfa, which keeps open space and preserves the aesthetics."

"For rural communities to prosper, you need to have entrepreneurs. And in most stable communities, the people with the new ideas tend to be outsiders, people who haven't traditionally been a part of the business community including women, minorities and immigrants."

"It's important to invest in places, not sectors ... Social and human capital exist in communities. If you want the kids to stay, it's investment in communities that will get you there."