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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 the 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: 71 Stories
Johanna Diaz poses for a photo in front of her home that she built with the aid of the USDA Rural Development Self-Help Program.

Single mother builds first home for family through Self-Help Program

Johanna Diaz was a single mother living in an apartment when she got the opportunity to build her own home in Imperial, Calif. “It’s easy to buy a house, but to build it with your own hands – it’s amazing,” Diaz exclaimed. Diaz started building her home in January 2019 and… [Read More]
California
Rural Development

New Solar Array Helps Brewery Keep The Lights On

In rural Ord, Nebraska, Scratchtown Brewing Company, LLC is saving nearly 70 percent in energy costs thanks, in part, to a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) renewable energy grant awarded in 2019 to purchase a new 24-kilowatt rooftop solar array. These renewable energy… [Read More]
Nebraska
BusinessEnergyInfrastructureRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSmall BusinessSolar Energy
Operator managing controls on solar powered irrigation in Railroad Valley, Nevada.

Alfalfa Farmer Saves on Diesel, REAPs Success with Off-Grid Solar

Mark Dunn, the operator of Railroad Valley Farms in Nye County, Nevada, had a unique challenge: how do you power irrigation pumps for 500 acres of alfalfa when your farm is off the grid in one of the most remote areas of the state? With the help of a $253,405 Rural Energy for… [Read More]
Nevada
REAPRural Development
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]
South Dakota
BusinessGrantsRural Development
Heather Gallagher in Home

Natural Building of Homes and Partnerships in Utah

Heather Gallagher has traveled the world to rock climb in as many locations as she can manage. Even so, in all her travels she kept returning to Moab, Utah. In 2002 she decided to make the small town her permanent home. “I know this is the place I want to be at,” she said. The… [Read More]
Utah
Rural Development
[From left to right] Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department board members Jeff Morris, Captain CJ Chandler and Assistant Chief Chandler Hardy pictured in front of fire protection equipment purchased with the help of a $50,000 USDA Rural Development grant.

Pride in a department, pride in a community

Nostalgia filled the Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department (GVFD) training room recently as four lifetime members reminisced about how far the department has come in 94 years. The department’s history - stemming back to 1922 even before its incorporation in 1948 - shows that it’s… [Read More]
Virginia
Community FacilitiesRural Development

RUS Electric Program Finances Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program Loans

  The RUS Electric Program recently established a loan program to help electric cooperatives reach out to consumers and businesses. In a News Release dated October 23, 2014, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA had funded its first two loans under the… [Read More]
Arkansas
ElectricEnergyRenewable EnergyRural Development
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]
South Dakota
BusinessRural DevelopmentSmall Business

Veterinary Clinic Expanding to Meet Industry Needs

The West River Veterinary Clinic (WRVC) is providing essential animal services in the largely agriculture region of southwestern North Dakota. Initially founded as a mobile practice in 1969, the demand for services quickly brought the need to build a permanent clinic. Since then… [Read More]
North Dakota
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentRural Development
Life Floor

“Made in the USA” Versatile Tile Manufacturer Receives Support From USDA

Life Floor Manufacturing, Inc. is a leading designer of slip resistant tiles commonly used around pools and waterparks. In an effort to better serve their customers, they adopted  a lean manufacturing focus  and brought manufacturing home, moving operations… [Read More]
South Dakota
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentManufacturingRural Development

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