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Success Stories

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Members of the Real Pickle Co-op stand on the roof of the building next to the new solar panels on a sunny day. Many are wearing coats and it looks chilly outside.

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]
10.20.2022
Cooperatives, Energy, Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods, Local Foods, Local Produce, REAP, Renewable Energy, Rural Development
York Glover, secretary of the Gullah Farmers’ Cooperative board of directors

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.   “This project… [Read More]
09.27.2022
African American, Cooperatives, Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods, Local Produce, Underserved
People holding bison jerkey

Roam Free Ranch Uses USDA To Expand Markets

Roam Free Ranch (https://goroamfree.com) is a 16,000 acre grass-fed bison ranch in Hot Springs, Montana.  In 2020, Roam Free Ranch utilized a USDA Rural Development Value Added Producer Grant to secure funding to help scale production capacity and expand their markets.  With the… [Read More]
07.20.2022
Business, Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods, Local Foods, Small Business
A baby in a basket sits on a table next to a board game and a wine glass. Behind them, family and friends gather on green grass beneath a blue sky for what appears to be a picnic or some kind of gathering with tables and umbrellas.

RiverCrest Ranch Finds Community, Opportunity in USDA Grant

RiverCrest Ranch has always been a place worth sharing. Nestled in Oregon's Applegate Valley, the ranch's 11 and a half acres still hold the remnants of an 1870s hydraulic gold mining operation and "the best swimming hole on the Applegate River," according to owner Cathy Rodgers… [Read More]
03.31.2022
Business, Disaster, Grants, Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods, Local Foods, Value Added

Claybrook Farms Providing Beef and Jobs

Even though Claybrook Farms had a long standing reputation for its excellent Black Angus cattle breeding operation, the new owner wanted to broaden the farm’s horizon. The Turner family purchased the 700 acre Claybrook Farms in 1975 growing it to over 1,000 acres and adding the… [Read More]
08.06.2019
Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods, Local Foods, Local Produce, Know Your Farmer, Value Added

Federal, State and Local Partnership Brings Farmers Market to Life

Town of Ashland City Mayor Richard Johnson was concerned about the sagging agricultural economy and lack of facilities for their Farmers Market.  Reaching out last year to state and federal partners the Town of Ashland City received a USDA Rural Development Rural Business… [Read More]
08.06.2019
Local Foods, Local Produce, Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods, Know Your Farmer
A bride holds a floral arrangement made by 3 Porch Farm, an fusion of artistic expression and natural rhythms

Walking on Sunshine at 3 Porch Farm

Tucked away in Comer, Georgia is 3 Porch Farm, a sustainably-grown flower and fruit farm owned and managed by Steve and Mandy O’Shea. They specialize in delighting locals at the farmers markets in Atlanta and Marietta and Athens, Georgia with a variety of value-added products… [Read More]
05.13.2019
Energy, Solar Energy, Biodiesel, Local /Sustainable/Organic Foods