This study describes the political environment that confronts rural advocates, and identifies the boundaries within which rural policy can be developed, promoted, and adopted with some degree of success. Congress designs and implements national policy; therefore, its composition affects advancements in rural policy. Rural residents comprise 24% of…

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…