Back Forty Action Wants Rural America at the Table

Will Westmoreland grew up on his grandparents' 640-acre farm in southwest Missouri. Today he leads Back Forty Action, a nonprofit that advocates for rural communities.

The group's message is simple: rural America feeds the country, and the people who live there deserve a say in the policies that shape their towns. Its main project, the Contract with Rural America, asks people to sign on to three priorities: health care, education and economic opportunity.

What Back Forty Action does

Back Forty Action is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. It pushes for policies on high-speed internet, rural schools and local clinics. It organizes town halls and listening tours, and it runs workshops and training to help people make their case to their own elected officials.

“For the past few years, I've traveled this country, sitting in barns, kitchens, and church basements, listening to folks who feel like nobody is looking out for them anymore,” Westmoreland writes in a letter introducing the Contract.

The Contract with Rural America

The Contract is built on three pillars.

Health care. Keep rural hospitals open by raising Medicare and Medicaid payments and protecting critical access hospitals. Build the rural health workforce through residencies and loan forgiveness. Expand telehealth and broadband, restore maternal and mental health care, and strengthen ambulance services.

Education. Fund schools fairly, adjusted for geography. Recruit teachers with scholarships and housing incentives. Close the broadband gap for students, and expand college, career and technical training.

Economic opportunity. Strengthen family farms and ranches for the next generation. Increase competition so farmers get a fair return. Expand access to capital, build affordable housing and modernize infrastructure.

People who sign commit to volunteer, get involved in local government, share their stories, advocate for rural issues and vote in every election.

The person behind it

Westmoreland has spent more than three decades in politics, advocacy and organizing, including as a field director on the Clinton-Gore campaign. He also runs Highlander Ag, an agroforestry company in Missouri. Nearly 300,000 people follow his TikTok, where he talks about agriculture, rural health care, education and the rural economy.

Why it matters for your food

The Contract's priorities reach past the farm gate. A farm family depends on the same hospital, school and internet connection as everyone else in town. Westmoreland's letter puts it plainly: “Hospitals are closing. Schools are stretched thin. Family farms are disappearing.”

What you can do

Read the Contract with Rural America and decide whether you want to sign it. To keep up with Westmoreland's work, follow him on TikTok.