By Kristi Eaton for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Big Sky Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced a dozen grants for rural communities, and strategists within the Democratic Party say it’s one way the Biden-Harris Administration is getting out a message to rural voters. 

The grants were announced in a press release just before Christmas. The release touted how the 12 projects would improve and expand transportation infrastructure in rural communities across the United States. 

“Infrastructure investments haven’t always reached rural America, leaving far too many roads, bridges, and other parts of the transportation system across our country in disrepair,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in the release. “Today’s announcement is one of many ways this administration is delivering the investments that rural communities have gone without for far too long, modernizing transportation, creating economic opportunity, and making life better for millions of people.”

The release said that due to decades of disinvestment, around 13% of rural roads and 10% of off-system bridges, most of which are in rural areas, are in poor condition. The fatality rate on rural roads is also two times greater than on urban roads.

One of the projects is a Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 7 Regional Improvement Project in Todd County, South Dakota. In Todd County — which is completely within the borders of the Rosebud Indian Reservation – USDOT is investing $26.2 million in the reconstruction of approximately 24 miles of roadway stretching from US Route 18 to US Route 83.

The project aims to provide improved access for Tribal residents to the town of Rosebud and the essential services located there, including healthcare centers, employment opportunities, and educational facilities.

Another one is the West Reserve Drive Improvements Project in Kalispell, Montana. In the city of Kalispell, Montana – a gateway to Glacier National Park – USDOT is investing $25 million in pedestrian and road safety and economic mobility.

The project will make needed improvements along West Reserve Drive including the addition of a center turn lane, new landscaped boulevards with a shared-use path and sidewalks to separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor vehicle traffic, and a redesign of the Hutton Ranch Road and Whitefish Stage Road intersections that will reduce congestion and improve access to nearby educational facilities, job opportunities, retail shops, and recreation areas for local residents.

Democratic strategists say the announcement helps Democrats get their message out to rural individuals and families that transportation infrastructure is important. 

“In Montana, they drive for a long distance for basketball games, football games between the Bobcats and Grizzlies,” Bob Lombardi, who has worked for Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both from Montana, told the Daily Yonder. “So people know how important it is, especially in rural areas. And just when we had a … cold snap, it was hugely important to make sure those roads were open not only for Montanans to shop but also for utility workers.”

It’s important for the Biden Administration to let people know what’s going on in their communities, he added.

“And these are good paying jobs that are coming to your community,” Lombardi said. 

Teresa Purcell, who was senior advisor for Rural Engagement for the Democratic Party during the recent midterm elections, told the Daily Yonder that it’s important for the Biden-Harris Administration to showcase the “transformational investments in rural America” taking place.

“I think it’s important, and also very necessary for these departments to be talking about these grants,” she said. “It’s also very important for folks to make sure that we’re getting those resources to the ground.”

She added it’s important to have local people telling the story and amplifying the work being done. 

In some cases, she said, elected officials may not be applying for the grants, so it’s important to showcase the grants in order for people to know they are available, awarded and being utilized. 

“It’s not just as simple as the Department of Transportation announcing these grants, which is a great thing,” she said. “But it’s also, ‘How are we making sure that those grants are hitting the ground?’ How are we making sure that, frankly, the county commissioners and elected officials who are choosing not to apply for those grants are held accountable to turning away money that will actually help their communities thrive? How are we making sure that after they do everything they can to keep those resources from coming into the community? They’re not at the ribbon cutting, taking credit.”

It’s important to listen to the communities, she added. For example, mass transit might be a hot topic, but in some areas, getting gravel on the ground is more important than talking about mass transit options, she said. 

“We need to make sure that people are really listening to the needs of the community because that is often missing.”

From North Dakota to Texas, the beef raised on farms goes through a production process controlled by four major companies and independent ranchers hope a proposed federal rule gives them more power to act if they feel they have been ripped off.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the plan it unveiled last week would provide clarity regarding unfair market practices under the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Aaron Shier, government relations director for the National Farmers Union, said in the past, some courts have said there needs to be proof the broader market is harmed. He noted the update addresses the problem within the long-standing law.

"It has many producer protection elements," Shier explained. "Over the long history of this law, that has gotten confused and muddled. And so, this proposed rule is meant to set the record straight on that issue."

Supporters said not only does it help prevent smaller farmers from going out of business but potentially gives consumers a fair shake on the prices they pay for meat and poultry. Industry groups like the Meat Institute are criticizing the move, saying it would set meat production back decades by encouraging litigation while actually hurting consumers.

The Institute also questioned such efforts when cattle prices are at record levels. Shier suggested there are specific examples of questionable tactics beyond current market dynamics.

"Failure to pay," Shier emphasized. "If a meatpacker, someone in the market fails to pay a producer, that is something USDA has consistently taken action on."

With more clarity under the law, policy analysts said there might be more consistency regarding court decisions when individual farmers push back against an industry giant. Shier pointed out the ultimate goal is to avoid lawsuits with this action and similar steps recently taken by the USDA setting a tone to foster market competition. A public comment period is the next step ahead of the rule becoming final.


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Family farm advocates are calling for cuts in federal subsidies to large animal feeding operations - technically known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - in the Farm Bill being debated in Congress.

Iowa family farmers want more support for conservation programs that benefit smaller agriculture operations.

Right now, CAFOs can qualify for as much as $100 million every year to reduce some of the environmental damage they can cause.

That's taxpayer money that Barb Kalbach - a fourth-generation family farmer in Adair County, Iowa - said could be put to much better use by small family farmers on their land.

"Things like filter strips along streams and rivers," said Kalbach, "which helps with erosion, and it also helps with nitrates and other pollutants entering the water."

CAFO operators contend they use the federal money to defend against environmental damage and that they're always looking for cleaner, safer ways to raise high-quality meats while responding to increased consumer demand.

As a board member for the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, Kalbach said she is calling for more support of conservation programs that would help family farmers. But she said she is just as adamant that the long-standing rules governing CAFOs are changed.

"Industrial-scale factory farms, even though they are industrial scale, they do not have to go by industrial standards," said Kalbach. "They go by ag standards. And that's why we have the problem with pollution that we have. That should be addressed in the Farm Bill."

The Farm Bill saw its first action in the House Agriculture Committee May 23.

The House version of the measure also proposes $30 billion in cuts to SNAP benefits over the next decade, including $170 million in Iowa.

For 15 years, U.S. restaurant chains have pledged to stop using gestation crates for pregnant pigs but a new report from an animal welfare group showed many are still dragging their feet.

Devon Dear, institutional outreach manager for the group Animal Equality, said too many restaurants still source their pork from suppliers who lock pregnant pigs in cages so small they cannot turn around. Eleven states, not including New Mexico, have already made the practice illegal, for good reason, Dear emphasized.

"Pigs are under lots of stress in crates," Dear explained. "More stress means more antibiotics; more and more antibiotics means higher chances of antibiotic resistance, and stressed animals are less healthy."

Hog production is not a major contributor to New Mexico's ag statistics, but the state does have its fair share of fast food restaurants. Dear pointed out some big chains have moved away from crates including McDonald's, Wendy's and Chipotle. The report lists Denny's, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin and KFC among 13 companies it contends have not been aggressive enough in reducing their use of crates.

The report comes as Congress is debating an update to the Farm Bill. As proposed, Animal Equality's analysis shows it would have negative effects for animals across the board. She hopes the report will put the inhumane treatment of pregnant pigs in the spotlight.

"One thing we do want to emphasize is that these corporate commitments predate any version of this Farm Bill," Dear noted. "Many are back from 2009, 2012, so irrespective of what happens with the Farm Bill, consumers expect companies to do better for animals."

U.S. pork production is highest in Iowa, while New Mexico is better known for crops such as chili peppers, corn, pecans and onions.