Featured speakers include:

• Ferd Hoefner, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
• Bahia Nightengale, Heartland Local Food, with Supervisor Melvyn Houser, Pottawattamie County, Iowa
• Elanor Starmer, USDA

Register for the webinar here.

This webinar is offered as a service to grantees of the federal government’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, NADO members, NACo members, and the broad community of individuals and organizations interested in regional food systems as a strategy for rural economic development.

For more information, contact Stephanie Osborn, sosborn@naco.org or 202.942.4235.

Regional Food Systems Infrastructure (PDF)

Many regional development organizations (RDOs) and councils of governments are exploring how they can support regional food systems infrastructure. In recent years, an emphasis on eating locally grown food has flourished as many Americans have sought to direct more of their food-purchasing budget to producers located closer to home. However, significant barriers prevent small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers from connecting with the expanding base of consumers who seek locally grown food. Many regions lack the transportation and distribution network required to support area producers.

This report describes the role of RDOs in supporting regional farmers, processors and distributors. Promoting small- and mid-size agricultural operations offers numerous benefits to a region, including sustained economic development, protection for regional farmland and rural landscapes, and reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions. By developing partnerships with area farmers and other stakeholders, RDOs can help to develop regional food systems infrastructure that will support economic development initiatives and other program goals.

On Tuesday, July 12, NADO Research Foundation sponsored “Rural-Urban Connections in the Sacramento Region,” a webinar exploring how the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) is addressing rural growth and development issues in their regional planning processes.  David Shabazian, Senior Planner with SACOG, discussed the Rural-Urban Connections Strategy (RUCS), a look at the region’s growth and sustainability objectives from a rural perspective.  Through the RUCS framework, SACOG is working with rural residents, businesses, and public agencies to form strategies that enhance the agriculture sector, rural economies, regional and local food systems, resource conservation, and regional sustainability.  Raef Porter, Senior Research Analyst at SACOG, demonstrated in real-time the interactive scenario modeling tools that SACOG is using to broaden understanding of how land use and transportation investments affect rural areas, agriculture production, and the region as a whole.  A recording of the webinar is located here.  SACOG staff will be demonstrating these tools further in an interactive workshop at NADO’s Annual Training Conference in Miami Beach (October 8-11).  This webinar was approved for 1.5 AICP Certification Maintenance credits.