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From the
farmers and ranchers of Kansas Farm Bureau Home Membership/Benefits Woman Committees YFR Committees Vote FBF Board Members Links Just for Kids Contact Us PREVIEW RURAL KANSAS: HOPE ENDURES KFB DOCUMENTARY INTRODUCES NEW WAY TO CONSIDER RURAL DEVELOPMENT YOUTH AND WEALTH RETENTION, FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP, DEVELOPING LEADERS ARE KEY MANHATTAN – Rural Kansas is changing. Across the state, a steady stream of decline has left small towns drained and diminished. Despite these trends, small, rural communities have the ability to find innovative and meaningful ways to heal themselves. A new Kansas Farm Bureau television documentary which airs statewide beginning next week will tackle that notion head on and make a compelling case that these communities can reinvent themselves. “It’s no secret people and wealth are leaving our small, rural Kansas communities,” said Steve Baccus, a grain farmer from Ottawa County who serves as president of Kansas Farm Bureau. “These demographic shifts have profound and lasting ramifications on the future economic viability of our hometowns.” Rural Kansas: Hope Endures will introduce a new way to think about rural development. One based on the fundamental notion that truly meaningful and sustainable change must emanate from within the community. It’s a follow up to the popular 2006 KFB television documentary, Rural Kansas: Heritage Lost? which provided the lay of the land by showing the political, social and economic dynamics of human migration and shifting populations within the borders of Kansas. “This story will resonate with everyone in Kansas, regardless of their address,” said Mike Matson, KFB Director of Communications & Public Relations, who wrote, produced and directed the documentary. “Auntie Em and Dorothy were on to something. The things that matter - that will allow rural communities to survive, have been here all along. Despite the trends, this is an uplifting story.” Rural Kansas: Hope Endures will feature rural Kansans who thoughtfully and eloquently communicate their need and desire to change the current out-migration of human and financial capital from small Kansas towns. It will showcase Kansans who understand that preserving their culture lies in fostering community leadership and entrepreneurship. Kansas Farm Bureau represents grassroots agriculture. Established in 1919, this non-profit advocacy organization supports farm families who earn their living in a changing industry. Rural Kansas: Hope Endures airs on: KPTS-TV (Channel 8, Wichita) Thursday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. CST Smoky Hills Public TV KOOD-TV (Channel 9, Bunker Hill) KDCK-TV (Channel 21, Dodge City) KSWK-TV (Channel 8, Lakin) Thursday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. CST RFD-TV DIRECTV (Channel 379) Dish Network (Chanel 9409) Wednesday, November 14 at 5:30 p.m. CST Cox Cable Kansas Now 22 (Channel 22) Saturday, November 10 at 8:00 a.m. CST KTWU-TV (Channel 11, Topeka) Thursday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m. CST |
