Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week that rural America is "becoming less and less relevant."

From the Associated Press:

A month after an election that Democrats won even as rural parts of the country voted overwhelmingly Republican, the former Democratic governor of Iowa told farm belt leaders this week that he's frustrated with their internecine squabbles and says they need to be more strategic in picking their political fights.

"It's time for us to have an adult conversation with folks in rural America," Vilsack said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal. "It's time for a different thought process here, in my view."

He said rural America's biggest assets -- the food supply, recreational areas and energy, for example -- can be overlooked by people elsewhere as the U.S. population shifts more to cities, their suburbs and exurbs.

Jack Geller, professor of rural sociology and head of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, will join The Daily Circuit Wednesday, Dec. 12 to talk about what that conversation would sound like and offer ideas to revitalize rural America.

Chuck Hassebrook, executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs, will also join the discussion along with Floodwood, Minn. Mayor Jeff Kletscher.

READ MORE ABOUT RURAL AMERICA:

The White House on supporting vibrant rural communities

What can we do to reverse decline in agricultural communities? (Center for Rural Affairs)

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