The small town of Greenwood in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, once nicknamed the “Cotton Capital of the World,” has seen its share of success, but that was a long time ago. When cotton cultivation and processing became mechanized in the early 20th century, thousands of sharecroppers and laborers lost their livelihoods. This economic struggle reverberates today; the median household income in Greenwood is just over $32,000 a year.  

Retired schoolteacher and great-grandmother Rutha was due to turn 80 years old the day after she welcomed USDA Rural Development (RD) and the Delta Design Build (Delta DB) Workshop to her recently repaired home in Greenwood, Mississippi in late August 2022. 

In January 2022, retired correctional officer Willie led USDA Rural Development (RD) specialists through her pitch-black, frigid home in Greenwood, Mississippi. Her three-room house had no permanent electricity, running water, plumbing, or interior finishing. In her bedroom, icy wind and daylight came through cracks in the outer walls, highlighting the lack of insulation.  

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGENCY: USDA-Rural Development/Rural Utilities Service
NOTICE: Chamois-Maries Transmission Line Project, Missouri
Central Electric Power Cooperative has withdrawn its application for funding of this proposal.  The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will not be providing financial assistance for this proposal.  A NEPA decision document will not be developed by RUS or posted to this website.

After many months of diligently working apart to serve New Mexicans during the pandemic the opportunity to come together at our annual State Employee meeting was very exciting and we jumped at the chance.

USDA Rural Development and Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority (RCCHA) have partnered over the years in Wisconsin to help tribal members make repairs to existing homes and to help renters reach their goals of becoming homeowners on tribal-leased land.

Southern Montana Telephone Company, located in Wisdom, received a $3.3 million ReConnect grant in 2019 which they used to bring high-speed internet to nearly 1,000 customers, spread out over almost 2,000 miles, in Southwestern Montana.

Rachael Ryan is a life-long farmer from southern New Mexico. Over the years she’s seen the ups and downs of her farming business called Back Yard Farms. --And she especially knows about the downs that come as an ag producer.

She loves farming, but she knows farmers are at the mercy of mother nature, because she says you’re one hailstorm or drought away from sending your profits into a tailspin. 

Ms. Barbara Delozier is a single senior living in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Like a lot of seniors on fixed incomes, Ms. Delozier finds it hard to make ends meet and manage cost of homeownership. Barbara has lived in her home for over a decade. Her home, built in 1965, needed some major repairs including a full septic replacement plus minor interior and exterior repairs to increase the safety and sustainability of her home.