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The state of Mississippi, recently hit with back-to-back disasters in the forms of record-intensity tornadoes in the eastern portion of the state and devastating floods in the Mississippi River Delta, was visited by two USDA under secretaries on Thursday. USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development...

Snow didn't stop the ideas from flying as members of the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission (Northern Tier) and their partners from Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming Counties met in Pennsylvania last month. Northern Tier is leading the regional group that...

I’m at the new Fire Station in Wilder, Idaho, where Engine 821 can now be stored indoors, protected from the elements, thanks to the community approving the financing of the station through USDA Rural Development’s Community Facility Loan and Grant Program, with funding provided to Rural Development...

Would you leave corporate America to work for a non-profit? Jim Hires did when he became the Executive Director of the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. How did I meet him? We met when I accompanied Illinois Rural Development State Director Colleen Callahan to drop off the state office’s donation to the...

In today’s housing market downturn, New Jersey and Arizona are fortunate to have been selected as two of the 19 states to participate in the USDA Guaranteed Single Family Housing Refinance Pilot Program. In New Jersey, many homeowners are struggling to make ends meet especially with high interest...

A few years ago, Mihai & Mihaiela Giurca reluctantly left both their native land of Romania to start fresh in New Jersey. In 2007 they became permanent residents and moved to a one bedroom apartment in Atlantic City. Both worked diligently to learn the language and obtain steady employment in the...

Chris Olson learned firsthand that there is much more to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) than he thought. Now he wants to share his story with others. Olson used USDA Rural Development’s direct home loan program to purchase a home in Cambridge, Minn. He learned about Rural Development’s...

Katie Bowens and her family had been renting an apartment for five years. They wanted a chance to have a home of their own. The Norfolk Housing Agency (NHA) directed Katie to USDA Rural Development in an on-going partnership effort. The City of Norfolk, acting through NHA, notified the local USDA...

LOUDON, N.H., Aug. 19, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today highlighted the importance of rural entrepreneurs to the U.S. economy and announced investments to help rural businesses grow, diversify and create jobs. USDA is investing $25 million to help 247 businesses nationwide expand their...

To update you on a story featured previously, I was honored to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Mt. Pleasant Native Farmers Market. We broke ground on this project in June, and it is great to see the pavilion completed in time to share this summer’s produce...