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Stakeholder Announcements

June 30, 2025 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Todd Lindsay today announced that USDA will delay opening of the first grant application window for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). | Stakeholder Announcement

June 26, 2025 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has issued a final rule to adopt changes from the 2018 Farm Bill that apply to the BioPreferred® Program (formally known as the Biobased Markets Program). Changes include merging guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement (FP) and the Voluntary Labeling Initiative for Biobased Products into one streamlined regulation. | Stakeholder Announcement

June 24, 2025 -  The Rural Housing Service (RHS) Office of the Multifamily Housing (MFH) is announcing July 1, 2025, as the effective implementation date of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). To accommodate the required HOTMA changes, Rural Development (RD) published updates to Chapter 6 of Handbook 2-3560 on June 13, 2025. All MFH tenant certifications effective on or after July 1, 2025, must comply with HOTMA requirements. However, between July 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, RD will not penalize MFH owners for HOTMA-related tenant file errors during supervisory reviews. | Stakeholder Announcement

April 2, 2025 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has amended two program funding opportunities to remove harmful DEIA scoring criteria. The overhaul brings these programs into compliance with Executive Order 14151, Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing, issued on January 20, 2025. | Stakeholder Announcement

Mar. 25, 2025 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has amended fourteen program funding opportunities to remove harmful DEIA scoring criteria. The overhaul brings these programs into compliance with Executive Order 14151, Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing, issued on January 20, 2025.  | Stakeholder Announcement