To effectively leverage their assets for long-term, shared prosperity, rural communities need a robust local capacity with solid connections at the regional, state, and federal levels.

While rural America is in no way a monolith, many rural communities have in recent years been confronted by challenging economic, demographic, and climatic trends that have limited their ability to achieve durable, inclusive economic prosperity.

Today's event forum will focus on agriculture's social and policy implications and environmental science-based policy. While economists recommend using market incentives, policymakers often use regulation to achieve agricultural and environmental resource management objectives