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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: 898 Stories
Potatoes bloom in a Walther Farms field in the Nebraska Panhandle.

USDA Partners with Rural Electric Cooperative to Support Nebraska Potato Company Expansion

For more than 15 years, Walther Farms, a third-generation family-owned business has grown potatoes in Nebraska’s Panhandle. As the company expanded from a small farm into a commercial and seed potato operation, it outgrew its storage facility near Lisco and needed… [Read More]
Nebraska
Cooperatives
A woman uses her laptop computer while sitting at a kitchen table.

Northwest Illinois Cooperative Drives Stronger Connections for Stronger Communities

Across the rolling countryside of northwest Illinois, where farms, small towns, and homes stretch along miles of two‑lane roads, internet connectivity could be hindered by something simple like distance, or complex like rugged terrain. For families, businesses, hospitals, and… [Read More]
Illinois
BroadbandCooperativesElectric
Madison County ReConnect

Connecting Communities, Strengthening Futures: Madison County Launches USDA ReConnect Fiber Network

This Fall, Madison County’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development ReConnect Project officially came online, marking a transformative milestone for the region’s residents, businesses, and farms. After nearly a decade of strategic planning, extensive research,… [Read More]
New York
Broadband
Woman looking at growing pecan tree

Investing in New Mexico's Value-Added Agriculture Future

In rural New Mexico, small farms are doing more than cultivating crops, they’re fueling local economies, honoring tradition, and creating new opportunities. Worthington Farms LLC, nestled in Mesilla Park in Doña Ana County, is a shining example of this spirit. Since planting… [Read More]
New Mexico
Value Added
Man standing in a field with his young son in his arms

Growing Opportunity from the Ground Up--Bidii Baby Foods LLC Leads the Way for Rural Innovation

In rural communities across New Mexico, small businesses often carry the weight of big dreams. One of those dreams is taking a significant step forward with an investment from U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.Bidii Baby Foods LLC is receiving a Value-Added… [Read More]
New Mexico
Value Added
Candace Perry was joined by USDA Rural Development State Director Jesus Ortega to celebrate her new home that was financed through Rural Development, Will County Habitat for Humanity, and other partners.

Building Stability, One Family at a Time

Across Illinois, Habitat for Humanity affiliates are demonstrating that safe, stable, and affordable homeownership becomes achievable when communities unite around a common purpose. Through strong partnerships between USDA Rural Development and Illinois Habitat for Humanity… [Read More]
Illinois
Housing
Sam Clikeman at Ranch and Roost

Big Lost Meadery, Ranch & Roost Finds Its Home in Sioux Falls

Story and photo contributors: Michael Frye (South Dakota) Christopher Freeman (North Dakota), Shinae Young and Sam Diffenderfer (Missouri), Cynthia Morales (Minnesota)What first began as a search for a new home for the company’s unique blend of meadery, great food and… [Read More]
South Dakota
Business
East of Billings, Montana, the Worden-Ballantine Yellowstone County Water & Sewer District serves the people in Worden and Ballantine, providing essential infrastructure. Here, the community water tower is painted to promote the local high school. USDA photo.

From Bottled Water to Better Days: Montana Communities Work Through Water Crisis

For communities everywhere, water is central to daily life. In 2019, however, it became a constant worry for the people of rural Worden and Ballantine in Montana. That year, residents were warned to stop drinking the tap water after testing revealed elevated levels of nitrates… [Read More]
Montana
Water
PA State Director Chris Hoffman and Michael McShane, MD, Associate Professor of Penn State College of Medicine, stand next to one of the LION mobile units during Ag Progress Days.

A Mission in Motion: LION Mobile Health Center Exemplifies Meeting Rural Healthcare Needs

Accessible and affordable healthcare in rural areas is a major concern across the nation. In Pennsylvania, where the Rural Center for PA estimates 26% of people live in rural communities, this is of particular concern. Finding ways to address it requires ingenuity and adaptation… [Read More]
Pennsylvania
GrantsHealth CareRural Development
Erie-2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES

From Simulation to Success: How USDA Funding Is Transforming Hands On Learning for Students in Western New York

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development is partnering with our rural educational partners and helping them transform hands-on education across Western New York. Across several Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) campus centers in Erie 2-Chautauqua –… [Read More]
New York
Distance Learning

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