georgia

Renee McDonald, a first-generation sheep producer in Lee County Georgia, spends many nights monitoring newborn ewes. In the last lambing season at Sheepy Acres Farm, eight out of ten of her pregnant ewes gave birth to twins. The lambing season holds many memories, but it also presents challenges, including twin births that require double the attention.

USDA Rural Development’s Rural Partners Network (RPN) is transforming how the federal government partners with rural communities to foster economic growth. With an alliance of federal agencies and civic partners, RPN helps create jobs, build infrastructure, and improve communities throughout rural America.

Wetlands are one of nature’s most important and productive ecosystems. They provide wildlife habitat, store floodwaters, filter pollutants, capture carbon, and offer recreational opportunities. Since 2016, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has spent $20 million to establish wetland mitigation banks to help restore and protect wetland ecosystems on agricultural land.