Rural Inequality
I study how agricultural communities are shaped by economic, environmental, and cultural forces.
Agricultural Communities
Local ranching communities face significant demographic and economic challenges, including aging populations and limited economic opportunities, agricultural concentration, and land consolidation. Narrow profit margins and rising land prices mean many ranchers’ operations may not be sustainable for future generations. I partner with tribal organizations, community development groups, and NGOs to study these issues in Montana’s Northern Great Plains.
With research colleagues, I also study how industrial meat production exacerbates rural inequality. Corporate finance relationships marginalize small producers and allow powerful Big Ag and financial actors to dominate animal production and disempower rural residents.