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Success Stories

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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: 33 Stories

A Partnership Made To Make Homeownership Possible for Native Communities

Native Community Development Financial Institution Relending Demonstration Program It’s very easy to get lost in where to start in the home buying process, between the application, documentation and the housing market it can be overwhelming. That’s when having support and… [Read More]
New Mexico

USDA Grant Helps Expand Tire Repair Service

Turning away customers is something no business owner ever wants to do, but that is exactly what employees at Traveler’s Service Station in Peñasco, New Mexico, had to do. Fortunately, the local nonprofit MAS Comunidad helped them purchase new equipment with funds from a USDA… [Read More]
New Mexico

USDA Grant Helps Rancher Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Peñasco, New Mexico is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and a lot of people have multiple jobs in the community. It’s the kind of place where you might go into an automotive shop and end up talking to the local water association vice president. Ivan Roybal,… [Read More]
New Mexico

New Mexico Winery Harnesses Sun’s Power to Make Wine and Cider

As you drive north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, through Velarde, it might be easy to miss the small vineyard nestled in the middle of Black Mesa. If you stop in, though, you will have the opportunity to taste wine flavored with local choke cherries, prickly pear fruit from the… [Read More]
New Mexico

Healthy Food Financing Initiative Helps Spread the Power and Love of Local Food in New Mexico

When you’re planning to spend a day at a museum, a couple logistical questions might come to mind: What am I going to eat? Is the food going to be too expensive and not good?Luckily for those who visit Albuquerque’s Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum, local, healthy… [Read More]
New Mexico

Welcome Home: The Fire Didn't Beat Me.

Have you ever heard your heart in your ears? It’s that adrenaline rush that results from both good and bad events in our life. Often enough the events that trigger this feeling are good, your favorite team winning, that lucky break or unexpected promotion. There are also times… [Read More]
New Mexico

USDA Grants Help Farmer Care for Apple Orchards, Maintain Blue Corn Lineages

After traveling down a long, narrow dirt road in Dixon, New Mexico, I eventually came to the production area for La Mesa Farms. There, more than 5,000 beautiful ears of blue corn were hung up to dry for the winter. They would soon be taken down, and the corn removed from the cob… [Read More]
New Mexico

Rural Development Loan Guarantee Helps Hotel Stay in Business

If you happen to look for hotels in Taos, New Mexico, you might come across the historic Sagebrush Inn. The hotel opened over 90 years ago and includes a variety of historic rooms with fireplaces as well as some more modern updated ones. “This hotel brings a sense of community… [Read More]
New Mexico

A Water Legacy in La Union MDSWA

Driving south bound with the Organ Mountains to my left you expect to see many things. Pecan farms, and Dairy farms sure, but also the beauty of southern New Mexico. If you continue on to Anthony NM, you will stumble onto a gem. Rural Development (RD) is no stranger to the area… [Read More]
New Mexico

An Intensive Small Farm to Get Help from the Sun

Every morning around 6:30, Mathew Ladegaard opens the flow of water from his catchment pond to water his various crops. And each morning, he looks up and sees clouds in the distance and he hopes it’ll rain later in the day which will surely help his crops grow. Ladegaard’s… [Read More]
New Mexico