Mark Drabenstott Quotations

There is no question that this represents a chance to transform the economy of the region. For regions like northwest Missouri, there is not a long list of economic alternatives.

These are the kinds of questions I see in play now. The definition of what's rural is much more complex.

The big question is, are we going to be able to move the fall harvest? To the extent that this backs up the transportation system, that is a question on the mind of the grain trade throughout the region.

This is a starkly different episode. We've seen considerable off-farm investors interested in farmland, in part a lingering result of the (low) stock market performance of recent years.

That has changed the landscape and changed the expectations of people who live in those places. In that sense, the meaning of the word 'rural' has changed.