Global energy demand is expected to double by 2050, and large-scale renewable energy “farms” are being deployed across the United States with increasing frequency to meet demands for clean energy generation and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to climate change.

Kansas Rural Center staff share their accomplishments of 2023 and give insight into what they’re looking forward to next year.

Ryan Goertzen-Regier discusses his recent urban ag tour in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

As the Food Value Chain Coordinator, I will wear many hats to coordinate this effort. I will work to cultivate and build lasting relationships across the diverse stakeholder community by providing engagement opportunities for open dialog.

Throughout 2022 half of my job has been to work toward developing a beginning farmer and rancher training curriculum that the Kansas Rural Center can use to provide education to annual cohorts of new farmers who desire further education about farming but may not want to or be able to enroll in an agriculture program at a Kansas community college or state university.

Other aspects of the project will focus on delivering fresh produce and local foods to food deserts and other areas with low access to healthy foods. The food hub’s distribution network will assist easier movement of local food throughout the region.

Though it’s true that many of the new farmers I’ve spoken with struggle with land and capital access, they face many other roadblocks that I didn’t necessarily expect.