(Harrisburg, Pa., July 30, 2026) – U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Joe Gilson has announced that Chris Hoffman has been appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as the USDA Rural Development State Director for the state of Pennsylvania. Director Hoffman will implement President Trump’s America First agenda at USDA Rural Development, ensuring the needs of America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers remain a top priority.

(Washington, D.C., July 29, 2026) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative to recruit veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses into mission-critical careers that protect America’s food supply, strengthen rural communities, and defend the nation’s agricultural security.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Michigan State Director Dom Restuccia today announced a $2 million grant to construct a centralized storage facility for the Mason County Road Commission.   

The project is located in Duplin County, North Carolina, and would construct a new multi-phase wastewater treatment facility at an existing meat-processing facility, in order to relieve an overload burden on the Town of Warsaw wastewater treatment plant.

Villari Food Group Wastewater Treatment System Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact - July 2026

Following a series of retirements and staff departures, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Georgia Program Specialist Justin Owenby inherited a case load of projects and servicing actions in 2025 for various USDA investments.

While familiarizing himself with one of these inherited projects, he noticed many duplicate invoices, which added up to nearly $300,000. These invoices drew funds from a city’s $6 million water improvement project funding that was awarded by RD.

Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative will construct and operate a solar photovoltaic energy generation facility with a maximum capacity of 40 megawatts (MW) and an associated battery energy storage system with a maximum 10-MW/40-MW-hour capacity. Project components would include solar photovoltaic modules mounted on fixed tilt racking system, power inverters, underground collector lines, a battery energy storage system and Project switchyard, internal access roads, and perimeter fencing.