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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: 4 Stories
People standing in front of large bio-fertilizer storage tank.

Fertilizer Grant Helps Northeast Ohio Crops Grow

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process that uses microorganisms to break down organic materials, producing both biogas and a nutrient rich byproduct, or digestate, that can be used as fertilizer for crops. quasar energy group's… [Read More]
Ohio
Biobased
The GreenTechnologies manufacturing plant in Clay County

National Biobased Products Day: GreenTechnologies’ 25-Year Quest to Provide Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Chemical Fertilizers

When Green Technologies, LLC began operations in 1999, sustainability was a newer concept in the agricultural industry. Still, the company remained dedicated to growing as a market leader in sustainability and innovation. Now, as the company celebrates 25 years, there is a push… [Read More]
Florida and Virgin Islands
BiobasedBioeconomyBiopreferredRural Development
A bearded man poses in front of a backdrop that says "GORiLLA LUBE" with industrial products on a table in front of him with orange labels.

Finding New Markets with USDA BioPreferred: Small Town Biobased Company has Outsized Impact on the Slopes and Ziplines of America

Scott and Kathie Lee are the founders of Gorilla Lube, based in Brownville, Maine. Scott Lee found his mission while still in college. At the time he worked for the Connecticut Department of Health inspecting public water supplies and… [Read More]
Maine
BiobasedBiopreferredBroadbandEntrepreneurMade in Rural AmericaManufacturing
Renewable Lubricants CEO Bill Garmier stands in front of barrels of Lubricant Products

REAP Adds Another Level of Sustainability to Bio-based Business

After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bill Garmier returned to Ohio with nothing but starting a family farm on his mind. For years, his family would plant and harvest corn and soybeans, but when the market began to change Garmier knew he needed to find an additional source of… [Read More]
Ohio
BiobasedBiopreferredEnergyREAPRenewable EnergySolar Energy

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