Roundup: April 11, 2025
A regular feature of our growing online journal, 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
In Indigenous Peoples, Commons and the Challenge of Sustaining Life Amid Capitalist Land Grabs, Lorenza Arango Vásquez (International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University, Netherlands) explores the assumption that the climate crisis can be addressed through Indigenous “environmental stewardship.” Published in The Journal of Peasant Studies, the article investigates the lived realities of Indigenous peoples and lands.
Emily Reisman (Environment and Sustainability, University at Buffalo), Madeleine Fairbairn (Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Cruz), and Zenia Kish (Communication and Digital Media Studies, Ontario Tech University, Canada) published Agrarian Platform Capitalism: Digital Rentiership Comes to Farming in Antipode. The article critiques platform capitalism through the distinctive features of agrarian political economy.
Not Caring or Not Knowing? Non-Operator Landowners and Conservation, published in Society & Natural Resources by Peggy Petrzelka (Sociology, Utah State University), Gabrielle Roesch-McNally (American Farmland Trust, Washington, DC), and Matthew J. Barnett (Social Work and Anthropology, Utah State University) shares perspectives identifying how a knowledge gap may be hindering landowners from engaging with conservation efforts.
News & Commentary
An article in The Christian Science Monitor highlighted the surprising ways the high-voltage needs of data centers in Viriginia can affect farms in Maryland several counties away. The need for electricity to power data centers has prompted the regional grid operator to propose building transmission lines and towers through Maryland farmland.
A recent article in USA Today reported on the consequences of federal cuts to government funding for programs helping food banks distribute local food across the country. Another article in Reuters highlighted the impact on small farmers in West Virginia where federal funds comprised about one-third of the states’ annual spending.
KFF Health News considered the increased risk of tooth decay for rural Americans where dental problems due to the scarcity of dental care access are likely to be compounded by the increasingly popular push against the fluoridation of water systems. Additionally, the article notes that cuts to Medicaid could further exacerbate a crisis of rural oral health.
Ambrook Research covered a Land O’ Lakes marketing campaign culminating in a fashion show featuring “Farmcore” fashion, an internet trend based on old farm work clothes. The article considers the cultural relevancy of the Farmcore aesthetic as it intersects with concerns of authenticity and the potential of fetishizing rural identity.
Recordings
Nebraska Public Media shared a conversation with Jessica Walsh (Journalism, University of Nebraska-Lincoln) about the publication of her interactive map of Nebraska local news organizations. The Nebraska News Map highlights the contrasts between rural and urban areas of the state and includes a written report identifying who has access to local news, who doesn’t, and why that matters.
The National Governors Association shared a recording of their panel discussion, Let's Get Ready to Improve Education and Support Rural Communities, held on March 31, 2025. The panel discussed the need for better educational systems, the benefits of parent and family engagement in student learning, and the importance of data-driven approaches. Solutions to challenges facing rural education included treating parents and students as customers, public-private partnerships, and focusing on skills that promote economic mobility. Watch here.
