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Since 2009, USDA has invested in 29,100 local food opportunities, including food hubs, small scale processing and farmers markets across all 50 states and the US territories. These investments include over 12,000 loans and micro-loans to small-scale producers who often sell products locally and over...

Though National Homeownership Month has ended, the stories of people in rural America achieving that American dream never do. Last month I had the good fortune to visit the homes of two such people in Moab, Utah: Heather Gallagher and Lynn Chenard. Both women live and work in the town of Moab, Utah...

Here at USDA, we know utilities mean more than just flipping a switch or turning on a faucet. Access to crucial rural infrastructure helps boost trade opportunities for rural businesses, create jobs, and strengthen our nation’s economy as a whole. That’s why we’re making smart investments to lay the...

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation sits in rural Central Michigan about 90 minutes northwest of Flint. One of the newest business enterprises to open on Reservation is the Native Farmers Market. I was there for the groundbreaking with Tribal Chief Steve Pego, and other tribal members to represent...

Allie Lane was full of excitement and activity. On this short street in the small town of Luling in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, I was proud to celebrate National Homeownership Month by breaking ground for a new home. I humbly watched as Jacqueline Campbell, Kimberly Dunn, and Paulette Alexander...

Jessica and Jason Smith used to watch home improvement shows in which old and deteriorating houses are completely renovated. They never thought they’d be the ones giving a neglected home new life—until now. While building their dream of homeownership, they are quite literally helping revitalize a...

Homeownership Month 2015 is already coming to the end, and I couldn’t be happier with the celebrations I’ve participated in, read about or listened to stories of. In 30 days I have visited seven states across our nation to meet the people that work for and with USDA Rural Development to help make...

I wake up every day excited to work for an agency that gives rural American families three intangible gifts through homeownership: hope, surprise and joy. They experience a sense of hope when they find there are affordable options to become homeowners. They surprise themselves by doing the...

"We wouldn't be all that we are today if it weren't for USDA”, said Verne Hansen, Board President of the Faulkton Area Medical Center (FAMC). With help from Rural Development, South Dakota, FAMC leveraged $5 million in loans and loan guarantees to build a state-of-the-art 12-bed facility serving as...

To me, the phrase 'economic development' is more than a buzzword – and that was reinforced during an all-too-brief trip to western South Dakota. It's easy to get caught up in the policymaking and program implementation in Washington, D.C., and I find great value in getting to the field so I can see...