Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 7/25/18

Startups in rural America get nowhere near as much investment as in Silicon Valley, but Congress should help change that, according to witnesses who testified Tuesday at a joint hearing of two House Small Business subcommittees.

"The Midwest is in the midst of a renaissance — no longer a languishing 'Rust Belt' of abandoned manufacturing facilities," said Falon Donohue, CEO of VentureOhio, a nonprofit that helps diversify and grow Ohio startups. "As smart robotics and industrial automation proliferate, the Midwest is just as reliant on innovation and R&D as Silicon Valley."

Matt McKenna, a former adviser to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack who's now head of Georgetown's Rural Opportunity Initiative — which aims to drive rural development with cross-sector partnerships including with USDA — called on the House to support language in the Senate's version of the farm bill that would expand USDA's Rural Business Investment Program, which provides licenses to new venture capital organizations that are helping rural communities meet their investment needs. Find all witness testimony here.