Rural Development

During his State of the Union address earlier this week, President Obama outlined a vision for the future that calls on America to “Out innovate, out educate, and out build the rest of the world.” A crucial contributor to this effort, as the President recognized, is rural broadband. USDA is funding...

The organization “Community Rebuilds” along with USDA Rural Development recently welcomed Sascha Pastler and Colleen Jarrett into their newly completed straw bale home. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at their front door. The large crowd attending was soon invited inside to see the first USDA...

Air carriers, farmers, fuel refiners and government leaders met in Columbus, Ohio, recently to explore the future of aviation fuels made from farm-grown energy crops. Hosted by USDA’s Ohio Rural Development office and the Ohio Aerospace Institute, representatives of the Commercial Aviation...

College student Latrice Watkins began an internship at the Kentucky USDA Rural Development State Office last summer – but her dedication, positive attitude and incredible work ethic led to an extended stay, which came to an end last week after seven months. Watkins will graduate this spring from...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 enabled USDA Rural Development to help more than 80,000 families in rural communities secure safe, decent, affordable homes. In the depths of the recession in early 2009, new home construction and private sector mortgage lending virtually ground to...

Julia Reyna was in need of assistance to repair her roof, replace the front and back doors, and replace falling sheetrock. She manages her bills with monthly income from Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and SNAP (food assistance) however this did not provide her with enough income to...

A few years ago, RAM Trucking was mainly a hauler of building materials—but everyone knows what happened to the housing market. Yet, RAM Trucking is still on the road and more resilient than ever. To safely steer his company when the economy began to slide, President Dale Latimer applied a basic...

On January 10 and 11, 2011, USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) visited Anchorage to conduct a consultation with Alaska Tribes on a wide range of subjects. At the Consultation, OTR staff, and local and national agency officials met with representatives of Alaska’s Tribes for a discussion of...

Glowing smiles from the residents of Philipsburg, PA adorned the scene of a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the grand opening of the new downtown location of the Holt Memorial Library on a blustery evening in January. Through $261,500 in loans and $213,500 in grants from the American Recovery and...

Red Caboose Winery, a family owned business in Meridian, Texas, was recently selected as a recipient of a USDA Rural Energy for America Program Grant. A $15,617 grant is being used to help lower the energy costs of running the rural winery that produces 10,000 cases of wine annually.