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.

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Harlowton, Mont., a rural community which also serves as Wheatland County’s seat, modernized their wastewater system with assistance through USDA Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.  See how they used these funds to transition to UV technology and process the city’s waste into water that’s clean enough to drink. 

Click here to watch the story: Cleaning Wastewater in Harlowton, Montana - YouTube

Livingston HealthCare is a 125,000 square-foot critical access hospital in Livingston Montana.  In 2015, they utilized USDA Rural Development the Community Facility Direct Loan and Grant program to secure funding for a new facility which serves Park County’s rural communities.

Click here to see their story: Rural Healthcare Spotlight: Livingston HealthCare - YouTube

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 help offset costs for upgrading old lighting and making other energy efficiency improvements.

Click here to watch their story: Montana Lumber Mill Makes Energy Improvements with USDA - YouTube