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Water & Wastewater Infrastructure
Explore ways USDA RD can help rural communities obtain the technical assistance and financing necessary to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems.
Energy
Our Energy programs empower rural America to establish, maintain, and evolve its energy resources for a cleaner, brighter, and more sustainable future.
High-speed Internet Access
Learn about how our programs provide funds to expand high-speed internet access for rural people.
Electricity
USDA RD’s electric programs help fund electric infrastructure to sustain rural economic well-being and improve quality of life.
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Lender Portal
This innovative resource allows for electronic reporting by lenders, the Rural Business Cooperative Service, the Rural Utilities Service and the Rural Housing Service.
Forms & Publications
This comprehensive resource provides access to all rural USDA documents, including directives regulations and environmental studies.
Resource Guides
USDA Rural Development has produced a series of resource guides to inform rural communities.
Trending Topics
Read about how others have used loans and grants to transform their communities and their lives
Priority Points
Priority Points, also referred to as discretionary points, are additional points added to an established scoring criterion that USDA Rural Development uses to help determine which projects qualify for funding.
Rural Innovation Center
The Center works to improve prosperity for rural communities through its three divisions: Strategic Engagement, Data Analytics and Regulations Management.
Rural Placemaking
Placemaking is a collaborative process that helps rural communities create quality places where people will want to live, work, play and learn.
How Rural Partnerships Helped Glasgow Community Open Its First Hospice Center
For the people of Glasgow, Kentucky, collaborations between the local electric cooperative, USDA Rural Development and other county entities have helped meet critical needs in the community. The first partnership between Farmers RECC, their power supplier, East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), the city of Glasgow, Barren County and USDA Rural Development assisted the city landfill with methane abatement and provided Farmers RECC with a renewable energy source.
Solar: It’s a “Big Dill” for Real Pickles Cooperative
As USDA Rural Development (RD) highlights National Cooperative Month, one worker owned co-op in Massachusetts stands out as a model for sustainability, collaboration, and local food system resiliency. The saying goes “it’s not easy being green.” But for Real Pickles in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the co-op wouldn’t have it any other way; they went green in 2011 with the addition of solar panels on the roof and are still going strong.
Gullah Co-op: Growing Food, Preserving Culture
St. Helena Island, South Carolina, is home to the Black-owned Gullah Farmers’ Cooperative. The co-op is named after the Gullah Geechee, an African American community known for its careful preservation of African cultural heritage in South Carolina and Georgia.