Roundup: October 10, 2025
A regular feature of The Rural Review, these roundup posts collect notable recent research, analysis, and related rural news and commentary. Feel free to send suggestions for future collections to us here. And, more details on other opportunities to contribute to The Rural Review can be found here.
Recent Publications
Society & Natural Resources published Framing, Values, and (in)Tractable Conflict in Maine Aquaculture by Robin Fail and Grant Murray (both Duke University Marine Laboratory) which explores how values and beliefs frame conceptions of aquaculture as either a positive example of sustainable development or as a manifestation of catastrophic factory farming.
In Political Minority Identity Maintenance and Parenting in a Rural Small Town published in Rural Sociology, Laura Backstrom (Sociology, Florida Atlantic University) considers political polarization within rural communities and how political minorities resist conformity pressures, drawing on interviews with residents of a predominantly Republican rural community in Northern Appalachia.
Luyi Han, Zheng Tian, and Stephan J. Goetz (all Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, Pennsylvania State University) and Timothy R. Wojan (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, TN) published Explaining the Urban-Rural Export Gap: Evidence from U.S. Firms in the Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. The article examines rural and urban disparities in manufacturing (non-agricultural) exports and examines possible explanations for the rural export gap.
News & Commentary
A story in Pioneer highlighted how arts organizations in Big Rapids, Michigan, are contending with funding uncertainty due to federal and state cuts that threaten to eliminate the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, a key source of grants for many local groups.
The High Plains Journal reported on net cash farm income for the year, which is expected to surpass that of 2024 due to record livestock prices. Additionally, government payments to farm operators are projected to rise by about $30 billion as a result of the American Relief Act.
A Utah-based news outlet covered a recent proposal for a master-planned community in rural Weber County, noting potential implications for current residents and the surrounding landscape, which is presently characterized by agricultural fields and farmlands.
The Guardian considered the potential impacts of federal budget cuts on public radio stations serving rural Native communities where access to landlines or cellular service can be limited. Indigenous broadcasters play a vital role in delivering weather alerts, language preservation programming, and local news.
Events & Recordings
An episode of The Dose, the Commonwealth Fund’s podcast on the future of health care, examines how limited broadband access is worsening chronic illness in many rural communities. Efforts to mitigate the potentially devastating effects of unreliable internet access include telehealth-ready kiosks and booths in community centers. The episode considers their effectiveness.
The Oklahoma Historical Society will host a webinar on the 1878 Battle of Turkey Springs, the last known armed conflict between the US Army and Indigenous peoples in Oklahoma. A panel will discuss how a band of Northern Cheyenne resisted the US Cavalry’s efforts to confine them to a reservation. The webinar will take place at noon CDT on October 14, 2025. Register and learn more here.
