U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

USDA Investments Helping Lead Rural America's Economic Revitalization

Name
Darin Leach
City
Des Moines
Release Date

Dear Friends and Partners,

In all corners of rural America, the emergence of a more vibrant and diverse rural economy is being led by makers, creators and innovators. After years of stagnation following the harsh economic climate of the Great Recession, we’re beginning to see positive trends emerge in major indicators of economic recovery.

Today, for the first time since the start of the Recession, rural populations have stabilized and the rural unemployment rate has dropped below 6 percent for the first time since 2007. From 2012-2014, we saw rural child poverty fall by 3 percentage points. And 2 million fewer people now live in a state of food insecurity compared with a recession peak in 2011.

Over the past eight years, the Obama Administration led by USDA has made significant and transformative investments to strengthen the small towns and rural communities that so many call home. We know that when rural communities do well, America does well.

Along with partners like you, we have vigorously invested in the rural way of life. We’ve supported the heart of the American dream, proudly helping more than 1.2 million families buy, repair or refinance a home in rural America and creating more homeownership opportunities than any other previous seven-year period in USDA’s single-family housing program's history.

We’ve invested in 8,350 critical community facilities like schools, libraries, hospitals and public spaces that improve the rural quality of life.

We’ve facilitated the 21st century basic infrastructure of broadband in areas that desperately needed it, enabling access to new or improved high-speed internet service for 6 million Americans who live and work in rural areas.

We’ve proven time and time again that an investment in rural America is a good bet. We’ve rallied our collective partners through the White House Rural Council to draw investment from the private and foundational sectors that builds a rural economy driven by partnership and data-driven solutions and that supports new markets and new opportunities that drive rural economies and rural jobs.

We understand that the success of our rural strategy requires bringing everyone along—and that is the center of USDA’s approach.

Eight years later, I’m proud to say we’ve brought about real and tangible change to rural communities. Please take a few minutes to revisit our shared results to advance the economic potential of rural America: http://bit.ly/results-ch9

Thank you for your partnership and all you’ve helped us achieve. I look forward to continuing the progress in the remaining months of this Administration.

Sincerely,

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Contact USDA Rural Development in Iowa

USDA Rural Development’s funding continues to have a dramatic impact on rural communities across Iowa. Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested more than $4 billion on essential public facilities, small and emerging businesses, water and sewer systems, and housing opportunities for Iowa families.

This past year USDA Rural Development’s assistance in Iowa helped create or retain more than 1,000 jobs, aided 2,400 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 60 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure. 

“We are proud to serve the needs of rural people and places to ensure that rural America continues to thrive and drive the economy,” said Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa. “We are very happy to be a partner with all the communities we serve as they work hard to make investments that will impact many future generations.”

For more information about finance programs available through USDA Rural Development, please call (515) 284-4663 or visit the agency’s web site at www.rd.usda.gov/ia.

USDA Rural Development has 11 offices across the state to serve the 1.7 million Iowans living in rural communities and areas.  Office locations include a State Office in Des Moines, along with Area Offices in Albia, Atlantic, Humboldt, Indianola, Iowa Falls, Le Mars, Mount Pleasant, Storm Lake, Tipton and Waverly.