Our friends over at RuralProgress, in partnership with the Food Research and Action Center, Center for American Progress, Agrarian Policy Center, and Long Rows Consulting, have just released a cross-issue analysis examining how proposed federal budget changes could significantly harm rural communities nationwide. Our new memo, “The Federal Budget and Its Effects on Rural Communities,” reveals a troubling pattern: while rural areas have long contributed to America’s strength by feeding, fueling, and defending the nation, they now face unprecedented threats to their economic stability and public services.
The Bottom Line: Rural Communities Get Hit Twice
The proposed budget creates a devastating double blow for rural America. Many cash-strapped rural counties will be forced to pay hundreds of millions more to administer federal programs like SNAP and Medicaid, while simultaneously losing the infrastructure investments they desperately need to compete economically.
Perhaps most concerning, this budget breaks a generational contract with rural communities. For decades, revenue from natural resources extracted from rural lands has funded essential services like schools, roads, and public health programs. Now, that money will be redirected to pay for tax cuts benefiting wealthy taxpayers instead of supporting the communities that produce these resources.
Key Findings That Should Alarm Every Rural Leader
Healthcare Access at Risk: Deep cuts to Medicaid threaten rural hospital closures, while reduced emergency preparedness funding leaves rural areas less equipped to handle natural disasters.
Agricultural Workforce Crisis: Proposed labor restrictions risk worsening severe farm labor shortages, disrupting food production and local economies that depend on both domestic and immigrant workers.
Infrastructure Investment Collapse: The budget rescinds critical funding for broadband and transportation programs while cutting clean water infrastructure investments—exactly the opposite of what rural communities need to attract businesses and support economic development.
Permanent Fiscal Strain: Some rural counties face an estimated $850 million in new administrative costs as federal support decreases, placing already resource-strapped local governments in an impossible bind.
Agricultural Consolidation Accelerates: The budget includes $59 billion in subsidies primarily benefiting the largest agribusinesses while smaller producers lose safety net protections, accelerating farmland consolidation and rural depopulation
