Yonder 40 Index - Yonder 40

A list of 40 publicly traded companies chosen for their ties to rural areas. The Yonder 40 is designed to reflect the economies of non-urban areas, and includes companies that are involved in agriculture and livestock raising, in addition to heavier industries such as construction. The index is not widely-followed.

The Yonder 40 Index was popularized by Jim Branscome and John Borden - two veterans of Wall Street. They felt that the major indexes were too focused on companies operating in urban environments, and that the health of urban companies didn't properly take into account how rural Americans were faring.

Despite the decidedly outside the big city intent, the original incarnation of the index covered several popular firms, such as ConAgra and Wal-Mart.