U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to invest an additional $200 billion in rural communities to boost population, add new jobs and place a focus on sustainable practices that would increase farmers' pay, according to a new plan released Wednesday.

The multi-point plan aims to encourage people to live, work and raise families in small towns by giving them tools to thrive as rural communities across Iowa and America face declining populations, jobs and services.

The plan was released as the Democratic presidential candidate embarks on a four-day road trip across Iowa in a Winnebago, culminating at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. Many of Warren's events will focus on rural vitality and agricultural sustainability.

"Our failure to invest in rural areas is holding back millions of families, weakening our economy, and undermining our efforts to combat climate change," she wrote in a Medium post announcing the plan. "It's time to fix this."

Her plan largely builds off of Warren's previously announced ideas to break up agribusiness and support family farms, provide universal child care and health care to every American, eliminate student loan debt, create green infrastructure jobs, and build affordable housing units across the country.

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But it also adds new programs, such as creating a public option for high-speed internet, preventing the closure of hospitals and other health care centers in rural areas, and building a new farm economy that guarantees farmers a fair price for their products, reduces overproduction of food, and pays farmers to engage in conservation practices.

To develop the plan, Warren's team spent time with more than 100 Iowa farmers to learn what would help boost their bottom lines while encouraging them to use their land in the fight against climate change, campaign officials said.

Warren is calling for a new farm program, in which the federal government would provide farmers a loan that covers their production costs. Farmers would be free to sell their products on the private market if they're able to find a better price. If not, farmers can hand over their goods to the government for storage in reserves, which would cover the repayment of the loan.

In addition, Warren's plan would pay farmers to place portions of their land into conservation practices.

"It gives us the tools to stabilize farm income where farmers aren't getting prices at the cost of production," she wrote. " ... It would also save taxpayers billions."

Her campaign says a re-organization of subsidy payments would help pay for the plan, so it would not require higher taxes.

"By making this shift, we can raise farm incomes and reduce taxpayer expenditures. We can break the stranglehold that giant agribusinesses have over our farm economy and expand economic opportunities for small- and medium-sized farmers, family farmers, women farmers and farmers of color," Warren wrote. "We can also provide consumers with affordable, high-quality and, often, local food, while protecting our land and water and combating the existential threat of climate change."

Some highlights of the plan include:

Preventing hospital mergers until the companies can prove it will maintain access to care in rural areas.

Establishing a $25 billion fund to support building new health care centers, expanding current programs, or providing access to mobile clinics.

Investing $523 million to build 380,000 affordable rental homes in rural communities.

Creating an Office of Broadband Access that would manage a new $85 billion grant program to expand high-speed broadband internet access to underserved communities.

Spending $2 trillion in green research, manufacturing and exporting to replace manufacturing jobs lost in small communities.

Creating a “Farm to People” program in which all federally supported public institutions would partner with local, independent farmers to provide fresh, local food, and investing $500 million annually to build distribution centers and other supply chain infrastructure.

Increasing funding in the Conservation Stewardship Program from $1 billion to $15 billion annually, and expanding the types of environmentally sustainable farming practices that would qualify for the program.

Expanding programs that encourage diverse and beginning farmers.

Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259.

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