NORTHEAST REGIONAL CENTER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Rural areas across the Northeast U.S. continue to experience multiple economic challenges and many have not yet recovered from the 2008 recession. To help inform some of the underlying causes and effects of this lagging recovery we propose to implement the programs and activities approved by the Center's Board of Directors at the Fall 2018 Board Meeting in Watkins Glenn, NY and to continue to build on the programs and successes documented in the Annual Report 2018. Under the leadership of our Technical Advisory Committee, we will strive to ensure that our programs continue to meet the emerging rural development needs of the region.As documented in greater detail in the narrative, the Center's signature subject matter areas align with the existing priorities of NERA and NEED as well as USDA/NIFA as outlined by Secretary Perdue. In addition to continuing and completing our ongoing work, we will pursue new grant opportunities (e.g., related to agritourism and intergenerational programming) while continuing to leverage earlier regional projects in this area. Specific new and ongoing areas to be targeted include: rural-urban interdependencies as reflected in models of spatial supply chains, documenting how the rural Northeast (NE) differs from the nation and also what the NE states have in common agriculturally; behavioral and mental health in rural communities and how they interact with quality of life factors; changing agricultural production conditions in the Northeast and the nation; and the barriers and opportunities for innovation to occur in different types of communities.