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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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Find Stories

Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 84 Stories
Durango Starr KOA

From Oregon to Colorado - USDA Funding Makes Business Possible

Relocating isn't always easy.  Finding a new job and a new home can be challenging.  For Julian and Kachina Starr, it was made a little bit easier with the help of a local lender and the USDA Rural Development Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program.… [Read More]
Colorado
Small Business
Image of Pineae Greenhouse

Business is Blooming for Utah Greenhouse

Pineae Greenhouses, Inc. has been a familiar presence in northern Utah since 1952 when the Gold family opened a small greenhouse in  Bountiful, Utah. Since then the business has had to move further north to allow for expansion and to protect their product, as strong canyon… [Read More]
Utah
BusinessSmall Business

City of Manning Iowa’s Small Business Community of the Year

With a population of around 1,500 residents, leaders in the southwest Carroll County community of Manning are not striving to become one of the biggest cities in western Iowa, just one of the best. “There has always been something special about Manning and its residents,” said… [Read More]
Iowa
Economic DevelopmentSmall Business
rural development mississippi, women in agriculture, mississippi delta southern rural black women, clarksdale, coahoma county

Expanding a Business One Sweet Potato at a Time

The Mississippi Delta Council for Farm Workers Opportunities, Inc. received $91,138 through the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG). They are proposing to install a commercial kitchen with processing equipment to support the growth of a small emerging business – the… [Read More]
Mississippi
GrantsSmall Business

Local Potato Packager Expands in San Luis Valley

Colorado has a long, rich tradition of raising potatoes that dates back to the early 1880’s. Today, it is one of the top producing regions in the U.S., and the majority of the potatoes are grown in the San Luis Valley. While supporting a robust stock of producers, the San Luis… [Read More]
Colorado
BusinessLocal FoodsSmall Business
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]
Utah
BusinessSmall Business
FINE and USDA partnership

Rural Development Stands by the Farm to Institution Movement

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]
Massachusetts
Local FoodsSmall 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]
Wisconsin
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]
South Dakota
BusinessRural DevelopmentSmall Business
Two owners behind store counter

Farmtastic Food Hub Celebrates Anniversary

Two entrepreneurs and the people of Anamoose recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of a new bakery and food hub in rural North Dakota. Farmtastic Heritage Food Hub opened last year to provide fresh, homemade meals prepared with locally sourced ingredients to guests, along… [Read More]
North Dakota
BusinessSmall Business

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