Census Good For Ag

Census Good For Ag. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Have you been counted? The constitution requires the federal government to count the nation's population every 10 years. The results can make an enormous difference in a community's future. Cody Lyon is political advocacy director for the American Farm Bureau Federation, which has been active on the census advisory commission, making sure that rural areas are not overlooked. LYON: If you get the census form you need to fill it out, send it back, because it lets the federal government get that good snapshot of who lives within that particular area so then services can then come your direction. In fact, census information helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services. That adds up to more than $4 trillion over a 10-year period for new roads, bridges, tunnels, schools, hospitals, broadband, job training centers, senior centers and emergency services. An area that is undercounted will not only miss out on the valuable funding but also congressional representation. LYON: According to a lot of projections there will be anywhere from 12 to about 18 congressional seats in about 12 states change hands and that's simply based on population. States in the upper northeast from Ohio through the old rust belt area of the upper Midwest are projected to lose at least one seat and a couple of states may lose two. The biggest winners for those seats population-wise are going to be in the south. Texas is projected to pick up anywhere from three to four seats, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona will also pick up at least a seat as well. Others use the census data, too. Companies look for pools of skilled workers or broadband access and businesses like many chain stores and restaurants look to see if the population is large enough to support them. LYON: If you don't fill it out the loss can be a very tangible thing that can make sure that your rural area does not improve decade after decade. He talks about how the government will use the census information. LYON: The current administration has a goal to really enhance the rural areas and rural development is a is a key part of the current administration's goals to try to make sure that rural areas have high-speed internet access, have good roads have proper hospitals with up-to-date equipment so that rural residents don't have to drive 50, 60, 70, 100 miles or more to come to a hospital or even see a dentist. The and it also helps with schools as well, making sure that the schools have up-to-date computers, have teachers in those areas. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.