/ 3 bis central bankers'speeches visiting with and speaking to farmers and community bankers in deming, new mexico. an important part of my job is to hear directly from leaders like you and others across this country to better understand current challenges facing your communities, your companies, and your industry. my goal is to bring back the knowledge i gain from these discussions to inform and improve our work to support both the financial sector engaged in agricultural lending and our mission as the central bank of the united states. i hope that conferences like this will help generate a richer discussion about the challenges and unique advantages in rural america so we can develop more creative, effective and direct policy responses. a deeper debate that, for example, distinguishes between low - density and higherdensity rural areas, between rural communities that are relatively isolated and those that are connected and close to thriving cities, will help us develop more durable solutions. before i close, i want to thank you again, as well as the many people at the federal reserve bank of kansas city and from the federal reserve board who helped organize this year ’ s conference. thanks to all of you for your work to ensure continued success for american agriculture. 1 u. s. census bureau, america counts : stories behind the numbers, “ what is rural america? ” august 9, 2017. return to text 2 federal communications commission ( fcc ), 2018 broadband deployment report ( washington : fcc, february 2, 2018 ). return to text 3 megan lavalley, out of the loop ( pdf ) ( alexandria, va : center for public education, january 2018 ). return to text 4 u. s. census bureau, “ new census data show differences between urban and rural populations, ” news release, december 8, 2016. return to text 5 board of governors of the federal reserve system, monetary policy report ( pdf ) ( washington : board of governors, february 22, 2019 ), 10 – 12. return to text 6 board of governors, monetary policy report, 10 – 12. return to text 7 tim wojan and timothy parker, innovation in the rural nonfarm economy : its effect on job and earnings growth, 2010 – 14 ( pdf ) ( washington : usda, september 2017 ). return to text 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

innovation in these industries. according to the u. s. census bureau, 97 percent of the country ’ s land mass is rural, and about 60 million americans call a rural community their home. 1 to put that number in perspective, the rural population of the united states is larger than the combined populations of the new york, los angeles, and chicago metro areas. if we were talking about the economies of those great cities, we ’ d stress their regional differences, the complexities of demographic change, and the distinct challenges each city faces to remain vibrant and innovative. when the focus shifts to the rural economy, however, the discussion tends to be overly broad and simplistic. the diversity and complexity of our vast rural communities too often gets lost — and i think that needs to change. there are challenges in rural communities. we know them all too well. there is a notable gap in access to broadband. as of 2016, 31 percent of americans in rural areas were not able to access broadband compared to just 2 percent of americans in urban areas. 2 this can have a significant business impact on ag producers — for example, limiting access to internet - based cattle auctions or inhibiting the ability of dairies to leverage technology to remotely access animal nutritionists to formulate feed to maximize milk production. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches many rural schools struggle to attract and keep qualified teachers who can teach stem and advanced math classes. these subjects are vital to preparing our children for the opportunities and challenges of a more competitive and technological workplace. 3 one in five people in rural areas have a bachelor ’ s degree, compared to one in three in urban areas. 4 this educational disparity helps explain why the employment - to - population and labor force participation rates in rural areas are lower than in many urban areas. 5 another contributing factor to low rural labor force participation is the opioid crisis, which the entire nation is struggling to overcome. policymakers need to be aware of and be willing to confront these issues. but let me be clear : i am optimistic about the future of rural america. the narrative of rural decline is too sweeping and brushes aside the diversity of the rural experience. just as many cities thrive while others struggle, there are deteriorating rural communities and rural communities that are thriving and growing. so let ’ s build on these successes and highlight a few of the positives. following six years of steady population losses, up through 2016, the rural population appears to have stabilized. and while