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East Kentucky entrepreneur uses solar power to significantly cut power costs
Geoff Marietta found out just how expensive it can be to heat a 12,000-square-foot, 100-plus-year-old building.
The building, located on the corner of 2nd and Main streets in downtown Corbin, Kentucky, sat vacant from 2005 until Marietta bought it in 2017. He immediately… [Read More]
Humboldt Community REAPs the Benefit of Webb Farm Solar
Located in rural Humboldt, Tennessee, Mr. Aaron Webb of Webb Farm Solar Systems Inc., owns and operates a minority owned solar farm. This farm has been in operation since 2012, with Photo-Voltaic (PV) Solar Systems on several farm properties.
It was in 2019, when Webb walked… [Read More]
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… [Read More]
Montana Lumber Mill Makes Energy Improvements with USDA
Sun Mountain Lumber, located in Deer Lodge, Mont., is a family-owned lumber mill which also serves as Deer Lodge Valley’s largest private employer. Since 2018, Sun Mountain Lumber has received two separate USDA Rural Development Rural Energy for America (REAP) program grants to… [Read More]
Family Farm Learns About Sustainable Options through North Jersey RC&D and Rural Development Partnership
The Blew family owns a sustainable farm in Hunterdon County. Oak Grove Plantation is considered a “Revolutionary” farm; all their products are free of GMO, preservatives, additives, and fillers. While they have a great start of going green, they turned to North Jersey RC &D… [Read More]
Hastings Farm’s Robotic Milking System will Run on Power of the Sun
Five generations strong, Hastings Farm is a multi-generational dairy farm located in Suffield, Connecticut. In addition to corn silage and hay, the family farm milks Holsteins and Jerseys, and processes a variety of dairy products including milk, yogurt, and cheese. They also … [Read More]
Little Leaf Farms Grows Green while Going Green
Pictured above: Maintenance Manager Steve Case with the input hookups for the chiller outside the greenhouse. The cooling manifolds that are fed by the chiller are just inside the greenhouse.
Paul Sellew, a founder of Backyard Farms, had mastered the growing and distribution of… [Read More]
Home repair loan helps family drastically cut electric bills
Keeping the electric on was crippling the Maggard family. Electric bills ranging from $300-$600 per month ate up the majority of the family’s fixed income.
HOMES Inc., one of Rural Development’s strong housing partners in Eastern Kentucky, led a project combining funding… [Read More]
Distillery is Making a Splash Mixing Community with Commerce
In the midst of the pandemic, while juggling work, civic leadership and homeschooling, friends Shawna Kelsey and Kristina Boyd decided to double down on their plans to launch Pink Bench Distilling in Troy, Montana.
In early 2020, they acquired a 100-year-old building from a… [Read More]
New Solar Array Helps Brewery Keep The Lights On
In rural Ord, Nebraska, Scratchtown Brewing Company, LLC is saving nearly 70 percent in energy costs thanks, in part, to a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) renewable energy grant awarded in 2019 to purchase a new 24-kilowatt rooftop solar array. These renewable energy… [Read More]