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EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) driver Ray Smith is in the middle of unwrapping a pallet of fresh organic vegetables and organizing individual customer orders on adjcent pallets, while in the Washington, D.C, on Tuesday Aug 2, 2016. TOG’s staff of 4 full time employees and up to 18 part time employees ensures each farm receives 70-75% of the sale of their produce. The balance is used to operate the co-op and make deliveries to its markets in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
Starting in 1988, Tuscarora currently has 50 producer-members and generates about $3.5 million in annual sales. The members’ farms average 5-15 acres, with their major products being produce destined for restaurants, food co-ops and independent retailers. By providing a marketing and distribution system for small-scale produce growers in the Northeast, the Tuscarora co-op helps members’ diversify their crops and increase profitability.
For the story behind these photos go to Rural Cooperatives Magazine and subscribe to future digital editions at www.rd.usda.gov/publications/rural-cooperatives-magazine
For more information about USDA Rural Development please go to www.rd.usda.gov/
For more information about USDA please go to www.usda.gov
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
“Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice” author Jessica Gordon Nembhard discusses her book and thoughts about cooperative opportunities for expanded self-reliance in the future for the African-American community at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D. C. on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Oklahoma State Director Ryan McMullen speaks with McCurtain Co. Rural Water District #6 residential and business customers, and governmental partners have come to Smithville, OK, on April 8, 2015; to celebrate the completion of a $25 million water project that for the first time ever provides clean abundant public water to more than 800 families in Oklahoma’s Ouachita Mountains.
The McCurtain RWD #6 project consisted of installing 253 miles of new water transmission and distribution lines and constructing five pump stations and three water storage tanks.
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Grant provided $ 17,953,950 million through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Water and Environmental Programs (WEP), and a $5,659,000 WEP Loan. The balance was funded by collaborating with several other funding sources such as the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Department of Commerce (Community Development Block Grant), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (Rural Economic Action Plan Grant) and the McCurtain RWD #6 itself.
Attending this event are U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Oklahoma State Director Ryan McMullen and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton who talked about the USDA and Choctaw partnerships with USDA StrikeForce initiatives in the Promise Zones.
In an effort to lay a new foundation for economic growth, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.
The Recovery Act included measures to modernize our Nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. Of the $40.7 billion in program-level Recovery Act funding obligated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development obligated more than $21.2 billion in program-level funding to administer through seven USDA programs.
For more information about this project, please see www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/news-release/rural-development-p...
For more information about USDA RD’s role in the ARRA, please see: www.rd.usda.gov/recovery/
For more information about USDA RD’s role in the Promise Zones, please see: www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/initiatives/promise-zones
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
The Lytle Community Health Center lab room is used to collect specimens from patients in Lytle, Texas, on December 5, 2017. This health center (HC) is a satellite clinic of Atascosa Health Center, Inc., who qualified and was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Community Facility Direct Loan program for a direct loan of $1,450,000. The funds allowed the purchase of an existing medical office building which includes a retail pharmacy, and the relocation to the new location. The Lytle Community HC once operated out of two of several adjoining retail suites and a diner in a single building. The new facility is approximately 8,500 square feet, has 10 additional medical exam rooms, and includes a spacious parking lot. Design and remodeling of select areas improved the efficiency in the work areas of providers and staff; and added an adjoining autoclave room to sterilize tools; a lab procedure room, vaccine storage area, and improved access and privacy in the large patient waiting area. The facility also includes office space for behavioral health and WIC services on a permanent basis. The loan is for 40 years at 2.7500% percent. This loan serves a population of 44,911. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Doug Jernigan, a three-generation family farm owner (with his wife Aileen) and employer who, a few months earlier, refinanced a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (RES), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of tanks, and mechanical equipment that separates solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
Aerial view of Steve Balungwe (floral shirt) accompanied by his brother Innocent arrive at the new home he just closed on, in Rockingham, VA, on May 19, 2021. Congratulating him on homeownership is United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Single-Family Housing Specialist Robin J. Chapman who helped him through the process. They then tour his new townhouse in The Townes development.
Mr. Balungwe, 28-years old, is a nurse’s aide at the nearby Harrisonburg Health and Rehabilitation Center. He first heard about the program from a former coworker who also qualified for a home loan. He was given Ms. Chapman’s contact information. His first call to her was to ask about the program. He also learned about the program by going to the USDA website rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/single-family-housing-programs.
“I really enjoy helping low- and very-low-income families through Rural Home Loans (Direct Program) process and enjoy the opportunities of homeownership,” said Ms. Chapman.
For more information about the Direct Program please got rd.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fact-sheet/508_RD_FS_RHS_SFH502Direct.pdf
Mr. Balungwe emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo to attend the Blueridge Community College on a student visa. Then he applied for and received a permanent resident visa.
Balungwe says, that in the Congo, “there are no home loans; house and property are paid for in cash.” The process of homeownership typically takes a long time. Here, he appreciates the opportunity to build equity in his own home, rather than paying rent. Additionally, compared to the current small, cramped third-floor apartment he describes, he will enjoy the three stories, three bedrooms, and garage of his new home.
“Now I’m able to tell other students and coworkers about my USDA path to homeownership.” Says Steve. “USDA Rural Development provides real opportunities for low-income people to become homeowners.”
USDA Photo/Media by Lance Cheung.
Lillian Salerno, Deputy Under Secretary, Rural Development (RD) participated in the Interagency Working Group on Cooperative Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D. C., Tue., Oct. 13, 2015. The meeting of federal agencies and cooperative organizations was held to develop the cooperative business model and cooperative structure. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.
Kyrgyz women processing shyrdak of woolen felt in Djalabad. The Improving Livelihoods of Rural Women through Development of Handicrafts Industry Project aims to improve the livelihoods of rural women in the Kyrgyz Republic by developing the handicraft industry. The specific objective is to increase income and job opportunities for poor women in selected rural areas by improving productivity, diversification, and products quality while establishing efficient marketing services and facilities.
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Improving Livelihoods of Rural Women through Development of Handicrafts Industry
“Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice” author Jessica Gordon Nembhard discusses her book and thoughts about cooperative opportunities for expanded self-reliance in the future for the African-American community at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D. C. on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Man tending manioc field in Northeast Brazil. Manioc is the region's biggest source of income. Photo taken as part of Development 360 project. Photo: Scott Wallace / World Bank
Photo ID: SW-BR14 World Bank
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Calvin Riggleman holds an oregano seedling and soil on Bigg Riggs farm in Hampshire County, WV on Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2015. Riggleman served in Iraq and serves his community farm fresh organic produce, and food products made by the Bigg Riggs Farm team. Riggleman grew up on the family farm but it was his comrades-in-arms from Iraq who helped him figure out how to make the farm productive, transforming an orchard with roadside sales to a multidimensional farm that provided value added food processing to make a wide range of condiment products such as apple butters, jams, sauces, and drink mixes for sale online. Bigg Riggs farm utilized community supported agriculture (CSA) operations, farmer’s markets and contracts with Whole Foods and others to improve the efficiency and productivity of the farm. Riggleman’s family has farmed in Hampshire County, WV since 1775, which is the same year the USMC was established. The original family farm has been owned and operated for five generations. Bigg Riggs Farm sells under the Homegrown for Heroes label and veteran farmers such as Riggleman may be eligible for support and services from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) New and Beginning Farmers program. Veteran farmers are encouraged to contact the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in their county. The following web site will provide the address of a USDA Service Center and other Agency offices serving your area along with information on how to contact them. offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=fsa USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Hospital Service District of West Feliciana Parish is the recipient of an $8,000,000 Community Facility guaranteed loan - to construct and replace a non-profit Critical Access Hospital which will service West Feliciana and surrounding parishes.
West Feliciana Parish Hospital will be one-story consisting of 58,000 square feet and located directly behind the existing one. The hospital will have ten beds, six exam, and two trauma rooms, CT, MRI, R/F and nuclear medicine.
There will be a dedicated area for women’s imaging that includes mammography, bone density and 2- ultra-sound rooms.
West Feliciana is a high unemployment medically underserved parish.
USDA Photo by Preston Keres
An old tractor, compressor tank and hen house outside the barn Joe Higdon built on his ranch in the middle of President's Island. Floodwaters from the Mississippi River still cover the island with 6-12 feet of water on President’s Island near Memphis, TN on Sunday, May 15. 2011. USDA Photos by Lance Cheung
Chickens freely walkabout the lawns and pastures at the Tuckahoe Plantation, in Goochland County, VA, on Thursday, May 5, 2011. Where they graze on the grass they also leave nutrient rich manure to revitalize the soil, enhancing regrowth. The plantation was the boyhood home of President Thomas Jefferson from 1745 until 1752, today it is a working farm with cattle, sheep, chickens and rabbits supplying meats to Fall Line Farms a local food hub. Fall Line Farms offers a wide variety of household food staples and specialty items on an ever changing inventory of fruits, vegetables, meats, soaps, eggs, cheeses, flowers, honey, pastas, sauces, syrups, baked goods, mushrooms, flour and grains. Suppliers post what they have on a Lulus Local Food online listing and customers make their selection. Every Thursday, suppliers team up to deliver customized orders to, one of several pick-up points, designated by the customer in or around the Richmond, VA area. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Under Secretary Robert Bonnie speaks at the Rural Community College Alliance (RCCA) at USDA in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Feb.10, 2016.
USDA and RCAA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). USDA photo by Tom Witham.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Cucumbers for sale at the Bath County Agricultural Education and Marketing Center, Owingsville, KY, on Friday, July 15, 2011. The Center was the recipient of a $400,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant. It has given farmers and producers from Bath and surrounding counties the opportunity to manufacture and market their locally grown and locally produced value-added and “Kentucky Proud” branded products, including but not limited to, fresh produce, artisan crafts and specialty food products. The Center is open year-round and allows residents to sell products in four different retail categories, including Kentucky products, regional crafts, “green” groceries and bakery/deli. Several producers expressed their gratitude for Rural Development’s assistance in making the center a reality. The project was made possible through funding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, RD Florida Deputy State Director Catrina Southhall tour the Deseret Ranch, in St Cloud, FL., on March 20, 2023.
Deseret Ranch is a multi-use ranching operation that spreads over three central Florida counties: Osceola, Orange, and Brevard. It occupies almost 300,000 acres of land. Deseret’s landscape includes a variety of pastures, citrus groves, wetlands, and woodlands. Their focus is on raising calves and increasing the productive capacity of the land. Deseret Ranch was founded in 1950 and has served Central Florida for more than 60 years. When much of the property that today comprises Deseret Ranch was purchased in the 1950s, the land consisted mostly of cut-over timberland and wiregrass range land of extremely low quality. With decades of effort, Deseret has created a vibrant, world-class operation for beef cattle, citrus, and timber, while carefully managing the long-term viability of wildlife populations. The Ranch maintains a herd of approximately 42,500 cows, 200,000 citrus trees, and 1,100 acres of both specialty and row crops like corn, potatoes, cucumbers, wheat, soybeans, black beans, sorghum, and cauliflower. There are about 80 full-time staff, which include cowboys, equipment operators, shop mechanics, citrus workers, and office staff. The Ranch has also served as a laboratory for research and innovation in a variety of agricultural sciences. The University of Florida specialists in pastures, citrus, production, soil, agricultural engineering, and animal science have worked alongside Ranch management. They used the Ranch and its development as a model for students and visitors. A non-profit entity owns the Ranch. (USDA photos by Val McMakin.)
Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) delivers produce to Each Peach Market in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, on Tuesday Aug 2, 2016.
Each Peach Market, established in 2013, is a full service grocery store providing produce, dairy, farm fresh eggs, meat, beer and wine, prepared foods and more in the Mount Pleasant district of Washington, D.C. The market staff is ready and willing to tell about how and where the foods are from and suggest ways to prepare meals. Jeanelouise Conaway and Emily Freidberg co-own the market and say they like to “…share our love for good food and the DIY culinary spirit with our community.” They feature many local products grown and made in the region, and use suppliers such as Tuscarora to get them into this urban market.
TOG’s staff of 4 full time employees and up to 18 part time employees ensures each farm receives 70-75% of the sale of their produce. The balance is used to operate the co-op and make deliveries to its markets in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
Starting in 1988, Tuscarora currently has 50 producer-members and generates about $3.5 million in annual sales. The members’ farms average 5-15 acres, with their major products being produce destined for restaurants, food co-ops and independent retailers. By providing a marketing and distribution system for small-scale produce growers in the Northeast, the Tuscarora co-op helps members’ diversify their crops and increase profitability.
For the story behind these photos go to Rural Cooperatives Magazine and subscribe to future digital editions at www.rd.usda.gov/publications/rural-cooperatives-magazine
For more information about USDA Rural Development please go to www.rd.usda.gov/
For more information about USDA please go to www.usda.gov
USDA Photo by Tiffany Edmundson.
Organic leafy greens are for sale by the Bigg Riggs Farm at Old Town Farmers' Market, in Alexandria, VA, on Saturday, Jun. 27, 2015. Bigg Riggs Farm is owned by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Calvin Riggleman. Riggleman served in Iraq and serves his community farm fresh organic produce, and food products made by the Bigg Riggs Farm team. Riggleman grew up on the family farm but it was his comrades-in-arms from Iraq who helped him figure out how to make the farm productive, transforming an orchard with roadside sales to a multidimensional farm that provided value added food processing to make a wide range of condiment products such as apple butters, jams, sauces, and drink mixes for sale online. Bigg Riggs farm utilized community supported agriculture (CSA) operations, farmer’s markets and contracts with Whole Foods and others to improve the efficiency and productivity of the farm. Riggleman’s family has farmed in Hampshire County, WV since 1775, which is the same year the USMC was established. The original family farm has been owned and operated for five generations. Bigg Riggs Farm sells under the Homegrown for Heroes label and veteran farmers such as Riggleman may be eligible for support and services from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) New and Beginning Farmers program. Veteran farmers are encouraged to contact the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in their county. The following web site will provide the address of a USDA Service Center and other Agency offices serving your area along with information on how to contact them. offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=fsa USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Rural laborers tending to manioc crop in Bahia State in Brazil's parched Northeast. Photo: Scott Wallace / World Bank
Photo ID: SW-BR01 World Bank
Melter operator Carl Welborn faces flames and intense heat to forklift foundry ingots into; and shovels slag out of a furnace crucible at Port City Group’s Port City Castings Corporation, manufacturer of high-pressure aluminum die-castings, mostly for the automotive industry, in Muskegon, MI, facility on Wednesday July 20, 2011. Port City Group boosted its employment by 12 percent over last year thanks to two Rural Business Guaranteed Loans totaling $9.6 million. In its 80,000 sq. ft. facility, machines that range from 800 – 1,600 tons, and cast A380 aluminum alloy products from melted ingots of aluminum, into automotive components of U.S.A. made vehicles. The process features a variety of robotic presses; computer controlled machining; quality control facility; and complete measurement and testing laboratory. In 2009 banks were backing out of loans for PCG equipment purchase agreements. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan guarantee helped make the loan possible with its guarantee. PCG obtained the needed robotic and other equipment. This resulted in a stable workforce that has since grown. When asked about their USDA experience, Port City Group Sales Manager Laura LaGuire said, “It was great! They were very helpful. Everything that came up was handled smoothly, the money came in place when it was needed, and it was a very smooth transition.” USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Reece Latron cleans and inspects every leaf harvested from Amy's Organic Garden on Thursday, May 5, 2011, in Charles City, VA, in preparation for a farmer's market tomorrow. Anything less than perfect will be composted. The farm also participates with Fall Line Farms a local food cooperative in the Richmond, VA, area that offers a wide variety of household food staples and specialty items on an ever changing inventory of fruits, vegetables, meats, soaps, eggs, cheeses, flowers, honey, pastas, sauces, syrups, baked goods, mushrooms, flour and grains. Suppliers post what they have on a Lulus Local Food online listing and customers can make their selection. Every Thursday suppliers deliver orders to, one of several pick-up points, designated by the customers in or around the Richmond area. USDA Photos by Lance Cheung.
Marma women using a hand water pump to collect water from a tubewell, Boli Para, Thanchi, Banderban. ADB is helping Bangladesh improve livelihoods in the ethnically unique and geographically isolated Chittagong Hill Tracts.
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The farm owner's dog greets California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD) Cooperative Developer, Seed Farmer, and Co-op Founder Mai Nguyen at their farm operation, on a small experimental plot, where they grow Ethiopian Blue Tinge Emmer, Canus, Hollis, Marquis, and Fortuna wheat, as well as some chickpea and Hunan popping bean, near Petaluma, CA, on Dec. 30, 2017. These varieties haven’t been widely grown in California and little is known about how they fare as dry-farmed crops in these climes. Nguyen uses a cover crop of crimson clover to fix nitrogen and help the grains compete with the weeds. The varieties that thrive will be harvested for the next season of more seeds. Grown out, over multiple harvests, a supply of seed will be available to wheat producers for commercialization and then bought by local bakers and residents.
All of the heritage seeds at one point began as a teaspoon of seeds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) and were grown out. The NPGS is a collaborative effort to safeguard the genetic diversity of agriculturally important plants.
To help share the cost of farming, they started a cooperative of small-scale farmers in the area to buy farm and seed cleaning equipment.
Nguyen also authors a grain catalog tell the stories of various producers and lists the grains that seed farmers are producing each year. With this information, farmers can better source the next season’s seeds. To take that a step further, Mai leads the California Grain Campaign, an outreach effort held at farmers markets and public venues to encourage the supply goals for the increasing demand for locally grown heritage whole grains.
Nguyen’s work with CCCD supports the building of agricultural and worker-owned cooperative businesses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is one of many organizations that award grants to qualified businesses, that build other businesses. CCCD is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that does this by promoting cooperatives and helping them to build their capabilities to address the economic and social needs of California’s communities. The organization supports agricultural, childcare, utility, financial, housing, and other worker-owned cooperative businesses with start-up, management, and other technical assistance. As businesses become self-sufficient, its members share in the rewards, challenges, decisions and responsibilities.
Nguyen’s parents emigrated from Vietnam during and following the 1975 “Fall of Saigon.” Later, they met, married and had Mai. During their childhood in a refugee and immigrant community, they recall how families learned to cook and prepared available local foods, but still had a desire for foods that were part of their heritage from Southeast Asia. Family experience, community gardening, work in refugee camps and their degree in atmospheric physics, planted the seed for their career working with refugee and immigrant farmers to build their own cooperative businesses that produce Umeboshi apricots, jujube drink concentrate and heritage wheat for a wide range of customers. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack moderates the panel on Opportunities in Rural American at the White House Rural Council inaugural Rural Opportunity Investment conference on Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2014. (L to R Panel members New York City Chief Investment Officer Seema R. Hingorani, Citigroup Bank Services Group Global Head of Public Sector Julie Monaco, American Bankers Association President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff L. Plagge, and Treasury Secretary Anthony Foxx). The White House Rural Council brings together top leaders from the business community and financial institutions, senior government officials, economic development experts and others from across the country to discuss potential investments in business and infrastructure projects in rural communities. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
US Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (VI-at large), right, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, center, RD Virgin Islands State Director Lakeisha Hood tour the BMR Energy's Spanish Town Solar Farm in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, on March 21, 2023.
The Spanish Town Solar Farm is owned by BMR Energy in Spanish Town, St. Croix. In 2018, BMR Energy received a $3.25 million USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) loan to refinance an interim loan it used to acquire and repair a solar farm that was damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The facility has 16,000 solar panels and generates clean, emission-free energy to power approximately 1,600 homes. During construction, the project created nearly 100 direct and indirect jobs and injected an estimated $3 million into the local economy. According to BMR, the project has increased facility resilience and promotes energy stability for St. Croix by utilizing outdoor-rated solar panels and inverters. (USDA photos by Rebecca Kaufman.)
Union Valley Apartments Resident David Pham talks about living and caring for his elderly mother at the Union Valley Apartments who participate in two U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development RD Multifamily Housing programs that assists the property owners and residents, in Finleyville, PA, on Sept. 2, 2021. Mr. Pham mentions excellent maintenance, low-rise showers for his mother to step into and sit down, and the smooth level sidewalks that make it easy for his mother to take a lap with her walker. For more information go to rd.usda.gov/multifamily The owner qualified for the RD currently holds the title through the Multifamily Housing Direct Loans program that provides affordable financing for projects in rural areas and is geared for low-income, elderly and disabled individuals and families as well as domestic farm laborers. For more information go to rd.usda.gov/programs-services/multifamily-housing-programs/multifamily-housing-direct-loans.
Many of the residents qualify for the Multifamily Housing Rental Assistance program that provides payments to owners of USDA-financed Rural Rental Housing or Farm Labor Housing projects on behalf of low-income tenants unable to pay their full rent. Rental Assistance can only be provided for apartments in new or existing Rural Rental Housing and Farm Labor Housing financed properties. Payments are made on behalf of the tenants and become part of the property’s income, which pays operational expenses. For more information, go to usda.gov/programs-services/multifamily-housing-programs/multifamily-housing-rental-assistance
The initial construction was supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD program that provided a tax credit for the developer. For more information, go to hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/map/maphome/taxcredit
USDA Photo Media by Lance Cheung.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Arkansas on Friday, September 16, 2022, to meet with producers and partners to discuss the new USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Project program designed to expand markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers.
The USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion into 70 selected projects for the first funding pool of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity; 20 of those projects are expected to affect Arkansas.
(USDA/FPAC photo by Christopher Willis)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Oklahoma State Director Ryan McMullen speaks with McCurtain Co. Rural Water District #6 residential and business customers, and governmental partners have come to Smithville, OK, on April 8, 2015; to celebrate the completion of a $25 million water project that for the first time ever provides clean abundant public water to more than 800 families in Oklahoma’s Ouachita Mountains.
The McCurtain RWD #6 project consisted of installing 253 miles of new water transmission and distribution lines and constructing five pump stations and three water storage tanks.
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Grant provided $ 17,953,950 million through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Water and Environmental Programs (WEP), and a $5,659,000 WEP Loan. The balance was funded by collaborating with several other funding sources such as the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Department of Commerce (Community Development Block Grant), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (Rural Economic Action Plan Grant) and the McCurtain RWD #6 itself.
Attending this event are U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Oklahoma State Director Ryan McMullen and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton who talked about the USDA and Choctaw partnerships with USDA StrikeForce initiatives in the Promise Zones.
In an effort to lay a new foundation for economic growth, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.
The Recovery Act included measures to modernize our Nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. Of the $40.7 billion in program-level Recovery Act funding obligated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development obligated more than $21.2 billion in program-level funding to administer through seven USDA programs.
For more information about this project, please see www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/news-release/rural-development-p...
For more information about USDA RD’s role in the ARRA, please see: www.rd.usda.gov/recovery/
For more information about USDA RD’s role in the Promise Zones, please see: www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/initiatives/promise-zones
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Calvin Riggleman holds an oregano seedling and soil on Bigg Riggs farm in Hampshire County, WV on Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2015. Riggleman served in Iraq and serves his community farm fresh organic produce, and food products made by the Bigg Riggs Farm team. Riggleman grew up on the family farm but it was his comrades-in-arms from Iraq who helped him figure out how to make the farm productive, transforming an orchard with roadside sales to a multidimensional farm that provided value added food processing to make a wide range of condiment products such as apple butters, jams, sauces, and drink mixes for sale online. Bigg Riggs farm utilized community supported agriculture (CSA) operations, farmer’s markets and contracts with Whole Foods and others to improve the efficiency and productivity of the farm. Riggleman’s family has farmed in Hampshire County, WV since 1775, which is the same year the USMC was established. The original family farm has been owned and operated for five generations. Bigg Riggs Farm sells under the Homegrown for Heroes label and veteran farmers such as Riggleman may be eligible for support and services from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) New and Beginning Farmers program. Veteran farmers are encouraged to contact the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in their county. The following web site will provide the address of a USDA Service Center and other Agency offices serving your area along with information on how to contact them. offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=us&agency=fsa USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small toured Mahaska Health, a hospital in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and participated in a roundtable discussion to highlight USDA investments in rural healthcare on February 1, 2023. The hospital has received several USDA investments in recent years. Roundtable discussion in the hospital board room. USDA media by Cecilia Lynch.
Double-wide mobile homes in various stages of being joined, set, secured on a foundation and finished for new occupancy at the Mountain View Estates MVE in Thermal, CA, on June 29, 2022.
U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. CA-36 and U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development RD Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small will tour Mountain View Estates MVE in Thermal, CA, on June 30, 2022.
The MVE was developed in three phases and will be home to 398 very low-income households at complete build-out. Amenities include a laundry room, computer lab, multipurpose public room, 24-hour security, a soccer field, picnic pavilions, covered playground equipment, a jogging path with exercise stations, and more. USDA RD invested in the water infrastructure that made Mountain View possible.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) driver Ray Smith delivers produce to Each Peach Market in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, on Tuesday Aug 2, 2016. TOG’s staff of 4 full time employees and up to 18 part time employees ensures each farm receives 70-75% of the sale of their produce. The balance is used to operate the co-op and make deliveries to its markets in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
Starting in 1988, Tuscarora currently has 50 producer-members and generates about $3.5 million in annual sales. The members’ farms average 5-15 acres, with their major products being produce destined for restaurants, food co-ops and independent retailers. By providing a marketing and distribution system for small-scale produce growers in the Northeast, the Tuscarora co-op helps members’ diversify their crops and increase profitability.
Each Peach Market, established in 2013, is a full service grocery store providing produce, dairy, farm fresh eggs, meat, beer and wine, prepared foods and more in the Mount Pleasant district of Washington, D.C. The market staff is ready and willing to tell about how and where the foods are from and suggest ways to prepare meals. Jeanelouise Conaway and Emily Freidberg co-own the market and say they like to “…share our love for good food and the DIY culinary spirit with our community.” They feature many local products grown and made in the region, and use suppliers such as Tuscarora to get them into this urban market.
For the story behind these photos go to Rural Cooperatives Magazine and subscribe to future digital editions at www.rd.usda.gov/publications/rural-cooperatives-magazine
For more information about USDA Rural Development please go to www.rd.usda.gov/
For more information about USDA please go to www.usda.gov
USDA Photo by Tiffany Edmundson.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) Chief of Staff Carlissia Graham talks with Patriot Farmers of America (PFA) staff participant Ned King (left) while PFA volunteer participant Willie Derek Riddick II (second from right) talks with USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) Deputy Under Secretary Karis T. Gutter (right) and Outreach Specialist Esther Lin (center) about his agriculture career plans, during a visit to the future site of PFA (behind them) at the Hill and Dale Farm in Berryville, VA on Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2015. Deputy Under Secretary Karis T. Gutter and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran is the current and first USDA Military Veterans Agricultural (MVA) Liaison. Gutter emphasized five “buckets” of USDA resources – education, capital and land, land quality, risk management, and expansion and investment. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.
Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack presided at the swearing-in ceremony for Alexis Taylor in Urbandale, Iowa, on December 29, 2022. Taylor assumes the duties of Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield, State Executive Director for Farm Service Agency Matt Russell, and local staff from the two agencies attended the event. A native of Iowa, Under Secretary Taylor was joined at the ceremony by family and friends. USDA Photo by Cecilia Lynch.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack presided at the swearing-in ceremony for Alexis Taylor, at a USDA office in Urbandale, Iowa, on December 29, 2022. Taylor assumes the duties of Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. USDA Photo by Cecilia Lynch.
Anthony Arredondo takes a processed water sample at the Freer Water Control and Improvement District Arsenic Removal System Site in Freer, TX on Tuesday, June 18, 2013.
Freer Water Control and Improvement District (FWCID) benefits from the financial assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) to complete a two-phase approach to meeting the city’s water supply and safety needs, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Although, the naturally occurring arsenic levels have remained constant for more than a century, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safe level standards have established lower levels of arsenic to be safe for human consumption. To meet those levels FWCID approached USDA and was awarded a $986,000 loan for Phase I, to install two new water wells, each rated at 167 gallons per minute (creating a total of eight wells); 13,600 feet of well collection lines; and 15,000 linear feet of well control line to remotely control the well pumps and the 1,000,000 gallon holding tank at the well facility, which supplies water to the new Arsenic Removal System (Phase II). Previously, water was manually controlled by personnel who knew when and how long to manually opened and closed water valves or started well pumps to ensure holding tank levels were within operating levels during peek and slack times of the day. Phase II was a combination of a $1,832,000 loan and a $1,258,750 grant, which provided for the customized arsenic removal system, seen in these photos. The system includes a new 3,530 sp. ft. facility, on a .76-acre site, and houses the operations room, computer and power system, laboratory room, and pump systems. The entire operation can be monitored through a desktop computer interface system. The computer-controlled system ensures raw water is fed to the pump system, which works in sequence to maintain a constant pressure to the system, when needed to pump water through (blue) arsenic removal absorber vessels, and then to ground storage tanks that feeds the residential and commercial needs of the city. Samples of water are periodically tested; and so far the arsenic levels have been below 1 part per billion (PPB), well under the 10 PPB limit. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) attends a briefing by the Lordsburg Housing Group and a windshield tour of ongoing housing projects in the area.
Aerial view of Black Rock, NM where U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) have been working with the Zuni Pueblo Housing Authority (ZHA) Zuni Self-Help Housing project in Black Rock and Zuni, NM, on September 9, 2019. A 2012 RD Self Help Technical Assistance Grant of $279,000 was awarded to ZHA for technical assistance in the construction of 12 homes where the homeowners build their homes (with the exception of those areas that need a license such as electrical and plumbing), and ZHA oversees the construction. ZHA has since received additional funding to continue the project.
The USDA Self Help Program typically helps four to 10 families that work together on each other’s homes until every home in the group is completed. The construction of the homes usually takes six to twelve months to complete. Families contribute significantly through approximately sixty-five percent of the construction labor. This labor contributed by the participants is referred to as “Sweat Equity” and saves an average of $10 to $20-thousand dollars per home. By providing this sweat equity the families are now in a position to buy their own home.
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung (with permission of Zuni Pueblo)
Mary "The Peach Lady" Manley (left) is happy to share a peach pie recipe and make an extra special deal for Janice Potts (right) who used her Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program check at the Bath County Agricultural Education and Marketing Center, Owingsville, KY, on Friday, July 15, 2011. When Ms. Potts's four dollar Program check, got $20's worth of beans, 3/4 peck of of "uglies" and some pretty Whopper heirloom tomatoes that day.The Center was the recipient of a $400,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant. It has given farmers and producers from Bath and surrounding counties the opportunity to manufacture and market their locally grown and locally produced value-added and “Kentucky Proud” branded products, including but not limited to, fresh produce, artisan crafts and specialty food products. The Center is open year-round and allow residents to sell products in four different retail categories, including Kentucky products, regional crafts, “green” groceries and bakery/deli. Several producers expressed their gratitude for Rural Development’s assistance in making the center a reality. The project was made possible through funding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
EF4 tornado disaster area in Rolling Fork, MS on April 12, 2023. Houses and other buildings wait for demolition or repair, while the rubble from demolished homes are taken away, and power line crews work on the grid to make it safe for the area.
USDA Media by Lance Cheung.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small saw premade meals being portioned, sealed, and packaged during a visit to Twinsburg, Ohio, on February 8, 2023, to announce a 2.4 million investment for Thomas Lane, Inc. and Innovation Food Service. The USDA RD Food Supply Chain Guarantee Loan will help the company buy high-pressure processing equipment that will extend the shelf life of prepared meals that Innovation Food Services provides to schools, daycare facilities, and seniors throughout northeastern Ohio. This will reduce food waste by keeping meals fresh for up to 100 days, ten times longer than without the new equipment.
The Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program is part of USDA’s Build Back Better initiative to strengthen critical supply chains and our food system. For more information go to www.rd.usda.gov/food-supply-chain-guaranteed-loans
USDA photo by Heather Stacy.