Conference participants examined how other states are preparing their farmers and rural communities to survive in the present "new world order," and considered whether Arkansas, one of only three states without a central agricultural agency, has the tools to forge strategies for the 1990's. "The Role of State Government in…

The Smaller Communities Services Program, as noted, is a means of expanding the services of the Oregon Department of Employment to rural and low-income areas in the state. This report is a summary of program findings in rural Jefferson County, Oregon, and is the result of field work performed over a 4-month period by a mobile team composed of 2…

The major participants in the formation of policy and programs for rural areas include agricultural interest groups, nonfarm groups, certain legislators, and--less directly--the media. Policy is developed in many institutional arenas: the local community and state governments, the Department of Agriculture, the White House, and the Congress and…