Wagon Wheel Community is a small neighborhood comprised of 144 mobile homes on a 48-acre property in Brookfield MA. The community was faced with an antiquated system that was comprised of 68 septic tanks serving 212 residents.

USDA RD Southern New England (SNE) started to address the problem in 2015 by providing assistance through the Water and Environmental Program (WEP) to repair the failing wastewater treatment system.

USDA RD is seeking Climate Change Fellows to assist with applications from farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses seeking funding for clean energy projects under the 

“The Light Lies on the Farther Hills,” was the motto of the Harlowton Women’s Club at is founding in 1921. The club’s first project was to establish a public library for the town to “stimulate intellectual development and promote fellowship.”

That same year, the Harlowton Public Library started with donated books in the conference room of a local bank and has grown into an enduring institution that has served this rural community for more than a century.  

On a sun-drenched, snowy day in Browning, Montana, community leaders gathered at NACDC Financial Services, Inc., to celebrate NACDC’s receipt of a $1 million USDA grant to expand single family homeownership on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Lone Butte Solar, LLC (Lone Butte Solar) plans to submit a loan application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to secure a direct loan to own and operate a solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Arizona. The Lone Butte Solar Project (Proposed Action or project) would be a 50-megawatt (MW) solar PV generating facility interconnecting to the existing Lone Butte Substation on Gila River Indian Community (Community or GRIC) land. 

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Heating and cooling is a luxury far too many of us take for granted. Imagine sitting in your kitchen day-after-day wearing two sweatshirts, two pairs of pants, and a stocking cap, just to keep warm.

Well, this was a reality for Washburn resident, Ms. Donna Helton. Ms. Helton had been without a working HVAC since November when she was referred to the East TN Development District (ETDD) for assistance. ETDD is a non-profit that partners with USDA Rural Development – Tennessee to provide assistance to low-income homeowners in the East TN region.

RGV Solar, LLC proposes to construct the Magic Valley Solar Arrays project.  The four proposed project sites are in Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy counties, Texas.  The Donna site is 34 acres located southwest of Goolie Road in Donna.  The Harlingen site is 22 acres located southeast of the intersection of Hand Road and Roosevelt Road in Harlingen.  The Raymondville site is 20 acres located east of Valdez Road in Raymondville.  The Brownsville site is 34 acres located southeast of the intersection of Morrison Road and Robindale Road in Brownsville.

What can you do to bring economic development to your rural communities? Is it possible without large corporations or out of town investors that may not understand the needs of your community? Perhaps your community should consider investment cooperatives.