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USDA Rural Development Announces Grants to Spur Rural Business Development and Job Creation through Five Organizations in Rural Maine

Name
Emily Cannon
City
Bangor
Release Date

USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel has announced that five Maine organizations will receive a total of $290,000 in Rural Business Development Grants to help create jobs and economic growth across the state.

USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel said, “These grants will assist 142 rural Maine businesses and farms statewide in implementing important business development planning and training activities that are anticipated to support or create a total of 160 jobs. The impact of this funding is far reaching and helps create opportunities for future economic growth in Maine’s rural communities.”

In Maine, six organizations have been selected to receive Rural Business Development Grants totaling $290,000:

  • Maine Farmland Trust, Inc., in Belfast, has been selected to receive a Rural Business Development Grant in the amount of $54,000. Rural Development funds will be used to provide a technical assistance program on the business of farming for wholesale, to help Maine farms scale up to serve wholesale markets. The project has the potential to create five jobs and save 25 more. The project is also projected to assist 26 businesses.

  • City of Eastport has been selected to receive a Rural Business Development Grant in the amount of $27,000. Rural Development funds will be used to complete a feasibility study for a high-tech incubator and training facility located in Eastport, which will also service the communities of Pleasant Point, Perry, Pembroke, Robbinston, Whiting, and Lubec. The project has the potential to create 45 jobs and assist 16 businesses.

  • Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets, in Pittsfield, has been selected to receive a Rural Business Development Grant in the amount of $66,510. Rural Development funds will be used to evaluate the economic impact and growth capacity of Maine’s rural farmers’ markets, with particular emphasis on those in Calais, Belfast, Bucksport, Norway, and Presque Isle. The project has the potential to create 13 jobs and save 55 others. It is also projected to assist 88 small farms and businesses.

  • Somerset Economic Development Corporation, in Skowhegan, has been selected to receive a Rural Business Development Grant in the amount of $59,500. Rural Development funds will be used to acquire equipment for lease to Maine Grains for its “Efficient Grain Handling Project”, including a grain unloading and transport system and a 15-ton grain storage bin. The project has potential to create 11 jobs and assist eight businesses.

  • Town of New Canada has been selected to receive a Rural Business Development Grant in the amount of $82,990. Rural Development funds will be used to acquire land and construct a garage and workshop for lease to Allagash View Farm for use in its Christmas tree, wreath, and proposed haskap berry operations. The project has the potential to create two jobs and save four others. The project also will assist four businesses.

The USDA Rural Development Rural Business Development Grant is designed to support targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas. For more information on how to apply, visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/me or contact Brian Wilson at 990-9168 or brian.wilson@me.usda.gov.

USDA Rural Development has Area Offices located in Presque Isle, Bangor, Lewiston, and Scarborough, as well as a State Office, located in Bangor. There are 54 employees working to deliver the agency’s Housing, Business, and Community Programs, which are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, and farmers, and improve the quality of life in rural Maine. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development's web site at http://www.rd.usda.gov/me.