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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in their Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 84 Stories

Milk Trucks Run on Biofuel Generated from Dairy Operation's Waste

Recognizing the potential for environmental and economic benefits through renewable energy, Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana, is producing more than milk from its 11,000 dairy cows. The dairy’s anaerobic digester generates approximately 865 million BTUs of renewable natural… [Read More]
BusinessRenewable Energy
Brendon Albers

Native Artists Enhance Community Economic Development

Because of the enduring impact of traditional arts and culture, both on and off reservations, Native artists represent an important yet undervalued asset for enhancing community economic development and creating stronger Indian nations and families. Rural Development awarded… [Read More]
BusinessGrantsRural Development
Pandolabs offers training and mentorship opportunities.

New Business Incubator Gives Access to Expertise, Growth

For a starting entrepreneur, having a mentor or expert within reach on an as-needed basis to help answer questions, pitch ideas, and test theory may seem like a very expensive luxury. At one business incubator in Park City, Utah, however, it’s standard. At Pandolabs, those… [Read More]
Small BusinessBusiness
In this photo, courtesy of Annin Flagmakers, employee Carol Wolfe sews an American flag at the company's Coshocton, Ohio facility.

Ohio company keeps Old Glory flying high

What begin in Alexander Annin’s sail-making shop in 1820s New York City is today known as America’s oldest and largest flag company. It’s still family-owned and fiercely committed to using only USA labor and materials.  While Annin Flagmakers’ headquarters can be found… [Read More]
Business

Organic Food Hub for South Central Texas and beyond

As we are becoming more conscious of our environment and the food we eat, more people are turning to organic foods. Organic foods have become a widely sought commodity in the past few years. There is a growing cluster of organic farmers in South Texas. Unfortunately, it seems… [Read More]
Business

Rural Battery Manufacturer Gets Boost from USDA Business Program

Small business owners face countless challenges when it comes to finding success in the global marketplace – and for those in rural areas, the challenges are often more pronounced. For more than 30 years, Superior Battery has been manufacturing a wide range of batteries from… [Read More]
Business

Rural Creamery Supplies Urban Texans with Wholesome Fare

The Miller Family Farm has been in operation for three generations in the rural Crawford/McGregor area of McLennan County, just west of Waco, Texas. Grandpa Miller began milking cows during World War II and the tradition continues to this day through his grandson, Craig Miller,… [Read More]
Business

Rural Food Manufacturing Plant Finds Success with the Help of USDA

Intevation Food Group is a food manufacturing company focusing on the production of appetizers and potato products in Plover, Wisconsin. As a start-up company faced with a national recession, Intevation Food Group found it difficult to obtain bank financing to construct a new… [Read More]
BusinessSmall Business
Sheyenne Dakota Inc.

Sheyenne Dakota, Inc. Expands With Assistance From USDA

Sheyenne Dakota, Inc., founded in 1996 and based in West Fargo, North Dakota, is a wire and cable harness manufacturer of electrical harnesses for every industry: construction, agricultural, trucking, electric, research, and recreational.  In 2013, the company was… [Read More]
BusinessRural DevelopmentSmall Business
Image of kitchen incubator in Cache Valley

Tech College Supports Kitchen Incubator to Jump-Start Business

Cache Valley, Utah, has a number of small “agribusinesses” that have unique products but no commercial kitchen to prepare them in. Many businesses rent spaces in restaurants but the accompanying fees are burdensome. In order to prepare products according to local and federal… [Read More]
Business

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