Texas

USDA Rural Development supports rural prosperity in Texas by investing in modern infrastructure such as high-speed internet and water and waste treatment systems. We help eligible rural Texans buy or rent affordable housing, and we can partner with you to build or improve essential community facilities such as hospitals, libraries, and schools. We boost rural economic development by funding technical assistance for small business owners and entrepreneurs, helping them design robust business plans, find new markets, and promote their goods and services. We also help eligible businesses and manufacturers expand or improve, and we support energy programs that finance renewable systems for agriculture and industry. Because so many of our employees live and work in the very communities we serve, the USDA Rural Development mission is personal to us. It’s this commitment to our neighbors that sets us apart.

Scroll down to learn more about how we can help you and your community or visit our Texas contact page.

NEWS: USDA Seeks Applications to Support Rural Entrepreneurs and Create Jobs for People in Rural America

U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced last week that USDA is accepting applications to support economic development and create jobs for people in rural America.

USDA is making this funding available under the Rural Business Development Grant program to support business opportunities or business enterprise projects in rural communities. Eligible entities are rural towns, communities, state agencies, authorities, nonprofits, federally recognized tribes, public institutions of higher education, and non-profit cooperatives. Individual and for-profit businesses are not eligible for this grant.

Business opportunity projects are used to identify and analyze business opportunities that will use local rural materials or human resources. These projects must be consistent with local and area-wide community and economic development strategic plans. Projects must also support other economic development activities in the project area. They may include establishing business support centers or financing job training and leadership development in rural areas. Enterprise projects include the repair or modernization of buildings, technical assistance such as feasibility studies or business plans, or equipment purchases for leasing to small or emerging businesses.

In fiscal year 2023, USDA anticipates that part of the funding may be set aside for federally recognized native American tribes, Rural Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities/Rural Economic Area Partnerships, projects located in persistent poverty areas (including those of Native Americans), and Strategic Economic and Community Development projects. Eligible applicants for the persistent poverty and SECD set-aside funds must demonstrate that 100% of the benefits of an approved grant will assist beneficiaries in the designated areas.

Applications for grants, including all set-aside funds, must be submitted in paper or electronic format to the USDA Rural Development Area Office servicing the area where the project is located in Texas by 4:30 p.m. local time on Feb. 28, 2023. For additional information, visit Grants.gov or see page 71571 of the Nov. 23, 2022, Federal Register.

USDA Rural Development encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance key priorities under the Biden-Harris Administration to help rural America build back better and stronger. Key priorities include creating new and better markets, addressing the impacts of climate change, and advancing equity in rural America. For more information, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.