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Shutting the door
You've heard the comments.
"Our town is dying."
"Look at all of the empty buildings on Main Street."
"Why isn't our community thriving?"
It's a fact that rural communities thrive on agriculture. As changes in agriculture have taken place, so have changes in rural communities. Farmers have become more efficient. They need less people to do more work. All of it translates into less support for small businesses in rural communities.
Recently plans were put on hold for a proposed ethanol plant in Johnstown, Colo. Officials with the company said they are reconsidering the plant because of the reception they have received by the community. Johnstown residents were not even willing to take tours of existing plants or hear the company's plans.
How sad. The community may have had problems with the site chosen for the plant, but to write off the plant completely sounds like a community that is ready to shut its doors to economic development.
Perhaps Johnstown doesn't have problems that many small communities in rural America have. But I can't imagine why any community would turn down a business that is so supportive of the local economy.
The development of the ethanol industry is one of the most exciting things I've seen in my time as an agricultural writer.
Why? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture ethanol production adds 30 cents to the value of a bushel of corn. The Renewable Fuels Association says that ethanol production adds $4.5 billion to the U.S. farm income.
But unless you are a farmer, it's hard to tell how those numbers benefit rural communities.
While the local plant in Johnstown was expected to employ around 30 people, studies have shown ripple effects creating a total of 700 permanent jobs. The same study, done in 2002, shows that a 40-million-gallon ethanol plant can expand the local economic base by $110 million each year. But perhaps most telling is an increase of $19.6 million in household income in the surrounding area.
That's a lot of money that can be spent on Main Street. But unless the community is willing to support it, company officials will take that money somewhere else.
What rural communities need are groups that are willing to work toward economic development. Many do and have found success. It's not always about drawing industry to a town. Often it means a group of investors going together to keep a grocery store in town or bringing high speed Internet access to the rural area. Those things may seem small but they add up to the difference between community life and death.
Ethanol plants are not the answer to every small community's woes. But they are a good example of how groups can work together to stimulate the local economy.
Take a look around your community. If there is not an economic development group, start one. It's those partnerships that can keep the community's door open for business.
Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com.
Date: 9/22/04
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