NERCRD in the News

West Virginia town with people enjoying a bike path and creek.

WVU Extension leads efforts to enhance sustainability of tourism in rural communities

July 8, 2026

This article by Hannah Booth (West Virginia University Division for Land-Grant Engagement) highlights the Tourism, Resiliency and Indicators for Post-Pandemic Planning (TRIP) project and a recently published study by the TRIP project team. NERCRD Director Stephan Goetz, Associate Director Stephen Alessi, and Faculty Affiliate Luyi Han are members of the project team. The TRIP project is led by WVU’s Doug Arbogast, who is also a member of the NERCRD Technical Advisory Committee.

News and Events

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If you’re looking for past or future events in the NERCRD webinar series, visit: https://nercrd.psu.edu/tag/webinar/.

New Book by UNH Extension Authors Dispels the Myth that Rural Places Don’t Innovate

February 4, 2022

Twenty-six leading community development scholars and practitioners from around the country—including over a dozen collaborators in the Northeast Region—teamed up to publish a new book that explores how innovation manifests itself in rural places and ultimately contributes to entrepreneurial development and community resilience. The book was edited by Dr. Charlie French, program leader and Extension associate professor of community and economic development at the University of New Hampshire. Funding to support this effort was provided by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.

RRDCs kick off year-long 50th anniversary celebration with formal recognition from key partners

January 26, 2022

Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) and Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP) took formal actions recently to recognize the significant contributions of the RRDCs, which are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

Food pantries essential for reducing hunger among middle-class in 2020

October 22, 2021

Food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community food services played a critical role in helping Americans meet their food needs, especially during the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research by researchers at the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. They found that middle-class Americans benefited the most from these services, demonstrating a key role these programs can play in times of crisis.

Choices magazine special issue focuses on COVID-19 impacts on Rural America

July 27, 2021

Choices magazine, which covers food, farms and resource use and is published by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), has just released a special themed issue on “Rural Development Implications One Year After COVID-19.” The issue contains eight peer-reviewed papers that explore the pandemic’s effects on aspects of rural life ranging from employment and childcare to recreational trail use and farming.

New Report: Craft Beverage Trail Collaborations in Pennsylvania—A Resource for Breweries and Destination Marketing Organizations

June 23, 2021

A new report examines existing beer trails in Pennsylvania and provides insights and considerations for those seeking to establish a craft beverage trail in their locale.

Remembering George Morse (1943-2021)

April 29, 2021

It is with heavy hearts that we share that George Morse, a longtime and highly regarded friend and colleague of NERCRD, died on March 28, 2021 at the age of 77. His wife of 56 years, Elizabeth Morse, survives at their home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

New York Muck Onion Growers explore “Goût de Terroir”

March 25, 2021

With support from NERCRD, an intrepid group of onion growers in New York state have launched a strategic business planning project to explore collaborative promotion and marketing.

New study examines importance and unique characteristics of U.S. female farmers

March 1, 2021

While women can be drawn into farming for many reasons, NERCRD researchers have found that female-owned farms in the U.S. are more common in areas that are closer to urban markets, that engage in agritourism activity, and that offer greater access to childcare.

NERCRD researchers develop new tool for visualizing vulnerabilities in supply chains

February 11, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically exposed the economic vulnerability of U.S. businesses, primarily because they are so interconnected: when one region experiences a labor shortage or supply interruption, adverse effects reverberate throughout the global economy. Researchers at NERCRD and the Korea Rural Economic Institute have developed a model to help visualize the interconnectedness of businesses and industries over geographic space, which potentially can show supply-chain vulnerabilities to future shocks, such as pandemics or climate-change impacts.

New project to explore models for connecting healthcare organizations with local agricultural producers

December 7, 2020

NERCRD is participating in a one-year project aimed at identifying a sustainable model for connecting regional healthcare organizations with local communities and agricultural producers. The project is funded jointly by the Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Medicine.

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