USDA ANNOUNCES OVER $3.1 MILLION FOR RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN 24 STATES

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2002 - Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced today the selection of 29 economic development projects in 24 states to receive over $3.1 million, as part of the Bush Administration's ongoing commitment to invest and bolster programs for rural America.

"Expanding America's rural economy depends on the development of new businesses and the creation of new jobs," said Veneman. "These grants will provide rural residents with the financial tools needed to create business ventures and expand their local economy."

"In rural America, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive. Through these funds, many additional rural businesses and communities will be able to improve their local economic conditions and create more jobs in rural areas," said Under Secretary for Rural Development Tom Dorr. "President Bush and our team at Rural Development believe in our rural entrepreneurs and are working to foster these efforts."

Veneman's announcement today underscores the commitment outlined in President Bush's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, last week, to strengthen the nation's economy and create new jobs to help rural working families. The projects selected will provide rural communities and businesses with funds needed to provide planning, training, technical assistance, and necessary facilities and equipment needed to pursue local economic development.

Funding provided through USDA Rural Development's business opportunity grants and economic development loan and grant programs will assist over 455 businesses and create or save nearly 3,000 jobs. The loans and grants are distributed as follows:

USDA Rural Development serves as the lead federal entity for rural development needs and administers program assistance through three agencies: Rural Housing Service, Rural Business-Cooperative Service and Rural Utilities Service. Further information on USDA Rural Development can be obtained by contacting any USDA Service Center or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ .

RURAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY GRANT (RBOG) PROGRAM

CALIFORNIA -- El Pajaro Community Development Center, Pajaro, Calif. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to provide bilingual/bicultural technical assistance to at least 25 low-income primarily Spanish-speaking rural entrepreneurs in Pajaro, where no other agency is providing concentrated business technical assistance for small or startup businesses.

COLORADO -- High County Citizens' Alliance, Crested Butte, Colo. - $9,500 - Grant funds will be used to conduct a feasibility study for the creation of recycling businesses in the Crested Butte area.

GEORGIA -- Lower Chattahoochee Regional Development Center, Cuthbert, Ga. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to hire staff for the Workforce Development Center to increase training and development activities that will benefit local business owners and area residents.

INDIANA -- Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corporation, Indianapolis, Ind. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to provide technical assistance for conducting local community and multi-county economic development planning.

KENTUCKY -- Prestonsburg Community College, Prestonsburg, Ky. - $48,360 - Grant funds will be used to stimulate economic and workforce development through concentrated business recruitment, marketing, cooperation with existing private and governmental agencies, and identifying training opportunities for existing or expanding businesses within the region.

LOUISIANA -- The Coordinating and Development Corporation - $49,790 - Grant funds will be used to establish a business development program for the parishes of Bienville, Claiborne, DeSoto, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Webster.

MAINE -- Northern Maine Development Commission, Caribou, Maine - $13,000 - Grant funds will be used to assist with the expenses to hold three cash flow management seminars for small businesses in the service district.

MARYLAND - Town of La Plata, La Plata, Md. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to prepare a detailed strategic economic and business development plan for the downtown commercial area and a plan for an economic (business) center on the north side of town. La Plata experienced a F4 tornado in April, which devastated the downtown and residential area and affected 48 commercial buildings, 150 businesses and 2,000 jobs.

MINNESOTA -- Northwest Regional Development Commission, Warren, Minn. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to facilitate a change from a rural economy dependant on the family farmer to an agri-business climate, where smaller farmers and rural entrepreneurs can build their own businesses, join in a value-added venture, or find off-farm work in the enterprises created.

MISSOURI -- Texas County Technical Institute, Houston, Mo. - $22,000 - Grant funds will be used to help the Technical Institute expand their services.

NEBRASKA -- Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District, Norfolk, Neb. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to bring communities in a 16-county area online through the Nebraska Economic Development Information Online (NEDI) system. This will market northeast Nebraska communities, expand business opportunities and create quality jobs.

NORTH CAROLINA -- Lumbee Regional Development Association, Pembroke, N.C. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to fund technical assistance for the development of an affordable housing construction and training program for five low-income persons.

NORTH DAKOTA -- Mountrain-Williams Electric Co-op, Williston, N.D. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to bring highly skilled, high paying job opportunities to five rural communities of North Dakota that have been suffering from down turns in the agricultural economy and population loss.

OHIO -- Vinton County Commissioners, Vinton County, Ohio - $50,000 - Grant funds to establish a new Business Support Center for new businesses and existing businesses in the area wishing to expand.

PENNSYLVANIA -- Downtown Bedford Incorporated, Bedford, Pa. - $15,000 - Grant funds will be used to finance a proposal that will revitalize Bedford's downtown, which has been accepted into the Pennsylvania Main Street Program. The project will recruit and retain retail businesses, recruit and retain higher-end specialty stores to attract a regional market, and grow the existing tourism industries.

SOUTH DAKOTA -- Day County Champion Community, Webster, S.D. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to provide economic development planning and technical assistance to the Day County Champion Community.

TENNESSEE -- Smoky Mountain Resource, Conservation and Development Council, White Pine, Tenn. - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to assist the Smoky Mountain Resource, Conservation and Development Council in financing expenses to conduct a 2-day agricultural exposition and training program.

TEXAS -- Texas A&M Investigate the Growth of the Texas Cattle Feeding, Amarillo, Texas - $48,936 - Grant funds will be used to conduct a feasibility study to determine where a new slaughterhouse facility should be located in the Texas panhandle.

VERMONT -- Vermont Telecommunications Applications Center, Inc., Burlington, Vt. - $35,538 - Grant funds will be used to assist the NEK Work-At-Home Project to develop their plan for hiring and training Work-At-Home employees, and to assist in providing broadband communications to the Northeast Kingdom region.

VIRGINIA -- Radford University, Radford, Virginia - $49,587 - Grant funds will be used to provide additional funding to establish the Radford University's Small Business Assistance pilot Southwest Virginia Small Business Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP).

WASHINGTON -- Lummi Indian Nation - $50,000 - Grant funds will be used to continue establishing certified tribally-owned telephone utilities on the reservation.

RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOAN AND GRANT (REDLG) PROGRAM

KANSAS -- Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Inc., Ulysses, Kan. - $200,000 - Grant funds will be used to establish a revolving loan fund. An initial loan will be made to the Stevens County Hospital to purchase new laboratory equipment and remodel the emergency room department.

MINNESOTA -- Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Rushford, Minn. - $200,000 - Grant funds will be used to establish a revolving loan fund that will assist in developing a 30-acre industrial park in Fillmore County, Minn.

MISSISSIPPI -- Dixie Electric Power Association, Laurel, Miss. - $431,687 - Loan funds will be used to assist Jones County Junior College (JCJC) in financing the construction of the 50,000 square foot JCJC Advanced Technology Training Center within a new 504-acre technology park near Ellisville in Jones County, Miss.

MISSOURI -- Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association, Licking, Mo. - $200,000 - Grant funds will be used to establish a revolving loan fund. Funds will go to the Salem Memorial District Hospital to relocate and expand the emergency room and to the Raymondville Fire Department for the construction of a new fire station to house trucks and equipment.

NEBRASKA - Great Plains Communications, Inc., Snyder, Neb. - $250,000 - Loan funds will be used to assist DANKO Emergency Equipment Co., a manufacturer of specialized, customized vehicles for the fire emergency and protection industry, in the construction of a new 33,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Snyder, Neb.

SOUTH DAKOTA -- Bon Homme-Yankton Electric Association, Inc., Tabor, S.D. - $150,000 - Grant funds will be used to establish a revolving loan fund. The initial fund will be used to expand the City of Yankton's fire hall so that the Yankton Rural Fire Association can house their fire trucks and equipment.

TEXAS -- Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative, Inc., Kirbyville, Texas - $365,000 - Loan funds will be used to assist the Jasper Economic Development Corporation (JEDCO) in financing the construction of a hanger for a single engine cargo aircraft manufacturing company in the newly developed 119-acre Jasper Industrial Park located in Jasper County, Texas.

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