CRI Fall 2009 Newsletter

Sustaining the Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin

CRI Newsletter, 5th Edition, November 10, 2009

This fifth edition of the CRI newsletter provides brief updates on recent activities.  For new readers, CRI is the direct successor to the Wisconsin Academy’s Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin (FOF) study.  CRI exists primarily to foster implementation of recommendations from the FOF final report toward a more sustainable, diverse and economically viable future for rural Wisconsin.

CRI UPDATES

Building Identity

Coming Soon:  CRI new web page!  Thanks to the valuable assistance of Irish Rose Consulting, CRI will have a much more functional website.  This version is still a temporary web presence, but much improved over the original.  Watch for announcement of the launch.

CRI Vice-Chair and Wisconsin Director of USDA Office of Rural Development, Stan Gruszynski, was the featured speaker at an “Academy Evening” at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson on October 13.  Stan was asked to describe important aspects of the genesis, development and outcomes of the Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin project, sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, and to relate this process to civic engagement as championed by the Academy.  This event is one in the Academy’s ongoing free lecture series offered in venues around the state to bring leading thinkers and crucial topics to statewide audiences to inform and prompt dialogue.  Opportunities like this one allow CRI to make explicit the connection between our mission and the Future of Farming recommendations—the impetus for our work.

NEWS NOTES

CRI board chair John Rosenow, was honored with a Joe Rody Labor Activist Award at a gala event October 22^nd in Milwaukee by Voces de la Frontera for his considerable work on behalf of immigrants and immigration reform.

PROGRAMS

Rural Labor

CRI is part of the Safe Roads Coalition, which advocated during state legislative hearings for an alternative “driver’s card” to certify immigrants to legally drive after passing required tests.  The measure was not ultimately included in the current State budget.  An effort is unfolding to re-introduce a similar proposal and demonstrate the wide diversity of stakeholders that supports such legislation in the name of safety, economic necessity and fairness.

Over the past several months, small local groups have been convened in rural areas to hear from immigration lawyers, dairy employers of Latino workers and persons familiar with effective community integration of immigrant populations.  Frank exchanges in these settings are intended to give participants factual information about the need for, status of and legal options related to immigrant labor and to begin to form networks of concerned employers and citizens around the state.

Such coalitions can more effectively work together on policy change and building welcoming communities for new population groups.  Most recently, a group of more than 100 participants met in Chilton to hear from immigration attorney Tom Hochstatter and dairy farmer Tim O’Harrow and to exchange ideas about how to better meet their labor needs and work for sensible immigration reform.  These meetings have succeeded in generating participant interest in engaging in reform efforts—creating further opportunities for CRI and likeminded partners to organize channels for effectively expressing these passions.

Sustainability/Preservation of Working Lands

At a festive occasion at the Saxon Homestead Heritage Center in Cleveland, WI, CRI co-sponsored “Partnering for Progress:  Celebrating Our Rural Communities.” The September 26^th event drew more than 200 to celebrate the passage of important elements of the Working Lands Initiative in the State budget in June, the working coalitions that are collaborating to protect the future sustainability of working lands, and Wisconsin’s agricultural heritage.

Sponsoring partners included CRI, Gathering Waters Conservancy, Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, UW Extension and the Saxon Homestead.  Registration covered an extensive, locally sourced appetizer buffet, wine, beer, door prizes and an evening of dancing with the lively King Comets Band.  It also constituted a donation to the three nonprofits:  CRI, GWC, and LNRP.  Presentations by the Secretary of Agriculture, Associate Dean of Extension’s Ag and Natural Resources and each of the sponsoring nonprofits added to the festivities. The setting was the beautifully restored 1850’s era barn on the Saxon Homestead, which has served 5 generations of Klessig farmers.  A thoroughly enjoyable evening, a successful fundraiser and a dedicated team of volunteers has convinced us to make this an annual event!

Rural Labor

CRI is developing plans to raise public awareness about the severity of health consequences for no or poor access to dental care in this state.  The numbers affected among rural populations is alarming, as are the consequences to school and work absenteeism, diet and employability limitations and vulnerability to systemic disease well beyond teeth and gums.  The supply of dentists (unequal distribution, aging out of current providers, inadequate supply chain for rural practitioners), licensure and scope of practice issues for hygienists and dental assistants, provider reimbursement for services to low-income populations—all these are issues that require more public engagement and policy action to address.  CRI intends to partner with various stakeholders to be part of the solutions to these concerns and is in search of resources to do so.

Developing Collaborations

Coalition building, network development, and community organizing are key to CRI’s strategy and future success.  Currently, CRI is working on several partnerships toward projects in several of our priority areas.

With Voces de la Frontera, CRI is exploring ways to create learning opportunities at the grassroots level to better educate the public about the motivators for immigration, the implications for our economy and culture, and the immigrant experience among us.  Much of the “common wisdom” about immigrants in Wisconsin is fueled by misinformation and myths about economic impacts, jobs, use of public services, cultural differences and the like, which can be dispelled by actual statistics and first-hand interactions among native and non-native populations.  This “hearts and minds” campaign is an important part of genuine, comprehensive, sensible immigration reform.

This goal is shared with other CRI partners like Puentes/Bridges and the Wisconsin Immigration Task Force.  All three organizations are also advocates for policy changes that will lead to fair and effective immigration reform.

Efforts to expand and deepen partner relationships in health care and sustainability are ongoing. CRI is actively pursuing a range of stakeholders in each.

Resource Development

CRI has received a $40,000 Otto Bremer Foundation grant for building organizational capacity or initiating community-based projects within our three declared priority areas (rural labor, rural health care, sustainability).  The CRI Board will consider options and make a determination at its upcoming November meeting on the directions we will pursue with these new resources. CRI is immensely grateful to the Bremer Foundation for this demonstration of faith in our future viability.

The “Partnering for Progress” event (see above) also yielded $5,000 for CRI programs.

Strengthening Networks

Please feel free to forward this message to other concerned citizens who may have an interest in one or more CRI priorities and invite them to request inclusion on the email list for periodic updates.  CRI Newsletters will also be available at www.cri-wis.org.