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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: 59 Stories
Honeyville Metal has recently announced the installation of a state-of-the-art solar array at their Topeka, Indiana location. This sustainable energy initiative is a significant step towards reducing the company's carbon footprint while also saving on energy costs. The new solar array highlights Honeyville Metal's commitment to environmental stewardship and their forward-thinking approach to business operations.

Harnessing the Power of the Sun: Honeyville Metal's Path to Energy Independence

Honeyville Metal, LLC in Topeka, Indiana is a family-owned business that designs and fabricates innovative dust collection and grain handling equipment that supports a variety of industries across North America. The company has taken significant steps towards sustainability… [Read More]
InfrastructureREAPRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSolar Energy
Man holding two bottles of wine in front of Black Mesa Winery sign

New Mexico Winery Harnesses Sun’s Power to Make Wine and Cider

As you drive north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, through Velarde, it might be easy to miss the small vineyard nestled in the middle of Black Mesa. If you stop in, though, you will have the opportunity to taste wine flavored with local choke cherries, prickly pear fruit from the… [Read More]
Clean EnergyREAPSolar Energy
Molly and Jesse of Piper Mountain Christmas Trees stand in front of a vintage blue pickup truck with their two children. In the background there is a red barn and a distant hill.

Beginning Farmers Use REAP Grant to Make Their Christmas Tree Farm Greener

Molly Livingston and Jesse Jimerson were living in Northern Nevada while looking for an opportunity to get into farming. When they heard that Piper Mountain Christmas Tree Farm in Newburgh, Maine was for sale, they were interested. The farm had been in business since 1978 and… [Read More]
BusinessClean EnergyEnergyGrantsMade in Rural AmericaREAPRenewable EnergySmall Business
Molly and Everett pose with dog Cricket in front of their barn with the solar panels on the roof.

REAP Helps Nettie Fox Farm Step Away from Fossil Fuels

Nestled in the gently rolling hills of Newburgh, Maine, Nettie Fox Farm produces certified organic vegetables. Molly Crouse founded the farm in 2009. In 2013 her partner, Everett Ottinger, joined her in operating the 33-acre spread. They began steadily increasing the… [Read More]
Clean EnergyElectricFood SupplyKnow Your FarmerLocal FoodsLocal ProduceRCDIREAPRenewable EnergySolar Energy
For Benjamin Barnett, a seven-year farmer, in Waynesboro, Pa., he decided to pivot his farming operation from boarding horses to dairy. Like many farmers he decided to invest in his farm through the Rural Energy for America program. The project is expected to save the farm approximately $5,500 per year and will replace 50,148 kWh per year, enough to power four homes in Franklin County.

Farmers Are Reaping the Benefits of Solar in Pennsylvania

You can view a video of the project on our YouTube channel. The pandemic and subsequential inflation forced many farmers to find ways to keep their businesses viable. For Benjamin Barnett, a seven-year farmer and owner of Marsh Run… [Read More]
Clean EnergyEnergyREAPSolar Energy
refrigerated section of a grocery store. well lit and has items like orange juice in it.

More Than Business: Rural Grocers a Lifeline for Locals

Four short miles north of Lake Sakakawea and just along the highway as you enter Garrison, ND, (population: 1,467), sits a non-descript, beige warehouse. As the saying goes, if you blink too long, you might miss it. From the outside, Krause’s SuperValu might look like any other… [Read More]
REAP
A photo of a man and a woman holding packages of cheese and smiling is inset against a photo of a long driveway bordered by trees and fields with a "cattle crossing" sign on the right side.

VAPG Provides a Buffer for a Maine Organic Creamery

Co-owners of Balfour Farm in Pittsfield, Heather and Doug Donahue have adapted to many changes as dairy farmers. First, they switched careers and began farming in 2004. They learned about farming and experimented with different breeds. Next came a move a move from New York to… [Read More]
BusinessClean EnergyEntrepreneurFood SupplyLocal FoodsREAPRenewable EnergyValue Added
Classroom at Little Sprouts Learning Center that benefitted from HVAC and energy efficiency lighting upgrades.

Little Sprouts Cooling Off in Alcoa, Tennessee

Babies crying, toddlers learning, preschoolers preparing for Kindergarten…Little Sprouts Learning Center in Alcoa, Tennessee invites their families to “Come Grow With Us”. This 8,500 square foot childcare facility offers seven classrooms, a cafeteria, and two playgrounds. Ms.… [Read More]
REAP
Man and child standing under corn hung to dry

USDA Grants Help Farmer Care for Apple Orchards, Maintain Blue Corn Lineages

After traveling down a long, narrow dirt road in Dixon, New Mexico, I eventually came to the production area for La Mesa Farms. There, more than 5,000 beautiful ears of blue corn were hung up to dry for the winter. They would soon be taken down, and the corn removed from the cob… [Read More]
REAPSmall BusinessValue Added
USDA-RD-REAP-G8-Farms-LLC

Sprucing Up the House, Poultry Houses That Is

G8 Farms, LLC, a woman-owned poultry growing operation in the rural landscape of Angelina County, Texas, is making strides towards a more sustainable and efficient future. With two breeder/layer houses comprising its facility, the farm is dedicated to poultry breeding and egg… [Read More]
REAP

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