Alan -- you make a fair point, although the key word there is ENCOURAGE. If people want to remain in urban areas, they're ultimately going to stay there. That's why urban agriculture needs to have a greater presence, legislatively; big (and even medium-sized) cities can focus on producing certain crop commodities that rural growers might be either unwilling/unable to invest in.

I do agree with you, that rural communities should be nurtured so they can become areas to which people from the cities WANT TO relocate. If you have specific ideas for advancing rural prosperity via the Farm Bill, I'd be more than eager to write a future piece that hones in on the RURAL aspects of it. But, realistically, with so many "blue" districts being urban or suburban, there has to be something in it for them, too (in terms of subsidizing agricultural upgrades). That's the only way America will achieve the Rural/Urban Alliance that I mention within the piece.