Success Stories

Five generations strong, Hastings Farm is a multi-generational dairy farm located in Suffield, Connecticut. In addition to corn silage and hay, the family farm milks Holsteins and Jerseys, and processes a variety of dairy products including milk, yogurt, and cheese. They also… [Read More]

Pictured above: Maintenance Manager Steve Case with the input hookups for the chiller outside the greenhouse. The cooling manifolds that are fed by the chiller are just inside the greenhouse. Paul Sellew, a founder of Backyard Farms, had mastered the growing and… [Read More]

Quality education is a key to creating ladders of opportunity for rural students. Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (PVCICS), a regional public charter school located in Hadley, MA has been providing quality education for its students since it’s opening in 2007.… [Read More]

Providing necessary and quality education in rural communities is important to create ladders of opportunity for the future generations. Following up on this mission, in 2009 USDA Rural Development gave the Quest Montessori School a $2.4 million Community Facilities loan to… [Read More]

The Nauset Regional Middle School in Cape Cod, Massachusetts currently has a three-year-old seasonal greenhouse that complements an indoor wet lab where fish and plants are grown. Currently, students are only able to use the greenhouse for a small part of the school year as the… [Read More]

Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. (CCAT), a non-profit economic development organization, was awarded a Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) to work on Phase II of a project that will determine the feasibility of implementing an alternative fuels facility in… [Read More]

 Ace Begonias, Inc. located in Woodbridge, CT., was founded in 1976 using a rented 3000 sq. ft. antique facility. In 1980, with assistance from USDA’s Farmer's Home Administration, they purchased nearly two dozen acres in Bethany and Woodbridge and added a 17,000 sq. ft.… [Read More]

Sharon, Connecticut is located in the beautiful Northwest corner of the state in Litchfield County. The town currently has a population of 3,052 and continues to grow. There is a need in the community for safe, affordable rental housing to accommodate very low, to moderate… [Read More]

As a part of the local food movement, the main goal of the “Farm to Institution Movement”, which is an initiative of the Farm to Institution New England non-profit organization, is to bring locally grown food and products into schools, colleges, health care and other… [Read More]

Day Kimball Healthcare, located in the second district of Connecticut in Middlesex county, was awarded a Community Facility Grant to purchase bedside physiologic monitoring equipment. USDA Rural Development provided $50,000 in grant funds for the project. The  hospital is… [Read More]