Purdue university serves as the host institution for the north central regional center for rural development (ncrcrd)

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Purdue University $613,978 on September 15, 2025, under the Integrated Programs federal grant program (CFDA 10.303) to support the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD).

The NCRCRD, hosted at Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana, develops collaborative relationships among 34 land-grant institutions across twelve North Central Region states to build thriving rural communities through research, extension, and innovative partnerships. The center facilitates research and extension via partnerships, small grants, multistate working groups, fellowships, and conference development. It increases visibility of regional research and extension through webinars, newsletters, and regionwide impact indicators. The center maintains NCR-STAT, an open access database, and publishes snapshots relevant to rural stakeholders. The NCRCRD advances three overarching themes: creating resilient communities and economies, developing leadership and civic engagement, and promoting community health and wellness, using a systems approach at the intersection of rural communities, farm and non-farm rural businesses, and rural households.

The award funds activities that improve the prosperity of farmers, ranchers, and foresters by enriching research, education, and extension across the North Central Region to address pressing challenges in rural communities.

Period of performance runs through August 31, 2027.

The ncrcrd enhances rural resilience by developing collaborative relationships among the 34 land grant institutions from the twelve states in the north central region (NCR). The mission of the ncrcrd is to build thriving rural communities through cutting-edge research and extension programs and innovative partnerships. The center facilitates research and extension throughout the NCR via partnerships, small grants, multistate working groups, fellowships, and conference development. The ncrcrd increases the visibility of research and extension from the NCR through webinars, newsletters, and the dissemination of regionwide impact indicators. The center collects and maintains an open access database titled NCR-stat and publishes snapshots relevant to rural stakeholders. The center fosters opportunities for the 34 land grant institutions to collaborate on projects and professional development that enhances their capacity to work in rural communities. This proposal advances USDA's goal of enhancing the wellbeing of rural america. The ncrcrd improves the prosperity of farmers, ranchers, and foresters by enriching research, education, and extension across the NCR that helps solve the pressing challenges that farmers, ranchers, and foresters face in rural communities. The ncrcrd works on three overarching themes: creating resilient communities and economies, developing leadership and civic engagement, and promoting community health and wellness. We also use a systems approach at the intersection of rural communities, farm and non-farm rural businesses, and rural households.