Pass a bipartisan, five-year farm bill that provides farmers and rural communities opportunities to succeed. Expand export opportunities and provide certainty in trade policy.

Those policies represent two contained in a Joint Economic Committee Democrats report released last week. The 186-page report, “Investing in Rural America,” examines the current state of the rural economy and proposes policies that could revitalize rural communities.

“Too many hardworking families across rural America feel like Washington has left them behind and they aren’t wrong,” said U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, who helped announce the report. “While these parts of our country face unique challenges, we have a unique opportunity to grow rural economies, raise wages and deliver a better deal to rural America.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., spearheaded the report, which showed rural Americans – 46 million – make up 14 percent of the U.S. population.

The agriculture portion of the report noted an aging farm population with the next generation struggling to find affordable land and resources. The report further pointed to increasing farm consolidation, with median farms operating at a loss. As a result, many households rely on off-farm income to support their livelihoods.

In addition to passing a farm bill and bolstering trade, the report’s policy solutions include expansion of initiatives supporting next generation farmers (education, training and access to capital and land), and use of tax policy to help small and midsized farms succeed financially.

Other solutions include:

- Expand broadband access through a one-time capital infusion.

- Increase recruitment and retention efforts for healthcare workers.

- Expand Medicare and protect against rollbacks or cuts.

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