U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Xochitl Torres Small celebrates Mayor Errick Simmons' announcement that Delta Region Authority (DRA) has awarded a grant of $2.5M to Greenville, MS, on April 14, 2023. USDA, part of the Rural Partners Network (RPN) community, has identified regional airport renovations as its signature project, with the desire to create 200 jobs. Part of RPN's work is to attract and leverage federal funding beyond USDA to fund projects in RPN communities. DRA, through EDA, has granted an award to the City of Greenville for $2.5 M to bring the hangar up to Dept. of Defense code standards. This is a $15M project with other support, including private and public investments. This is significant in that it illustrates the first time that other federal dollars outside USDA have been used to fund a signature project in an RPN community (and in Mississippi, where RPN was launched in 2022!)

The Rural Partners Network has transformed the way we serve rural people in Mississippi and throughout the country. By partnering with communities to drive economic growth for generations to come, we are creating opportunities for all people to build successful futures. And this is just the beginning.

USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

From left, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor and USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield at the Under Secretary Taylor's swearing-in ceremony presided by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in Urbandale, Iowa, on December 29, 2022. Taylor's family, friends, and staff from both agencies attended the ceremony. USDA Photo by Cecilia Lynch.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack discussed agricultural trade and production with Francisco Vallejo Gil, General Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture, Mexico, Ivan Moctezuma Perez Sagaz, Press Secretary, Ambassador Carlos Manuel Sada Solana, Mexico, Jose Calzada, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Food, Mexico and Carlos Vazquez, Minister for Agricultural Affairs, Embassy of Mexico at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Tue. Jul. 12, 2016. 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.

Organic produce from Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) was delivered to Each Peach Market in the Washington, D.C., 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. The staff is ready and able 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 to, as they say “…share our love for good food and the DIY culinary spirit with our community.” They feature many great 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 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.

Fresh 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 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.

One customer's purchase of tomato's 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 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.

Bodokia and her husband work year round and she hires seasonal workers. Georgia. Photo: Gia Abdaladze / World Bank

Photo ID: GA-GE003

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 on February 1, 2023. The hospital has received several USDA investments in recent years. A plaque in the hospital notes the founding of the hospital in 1907. USDA media by Cecilia Lynch.

From left, 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. Under Secretary Taylor was joined at the ceremony by family who assisted with the bible. USDA Photo by Cecilia Lynch.

Peaches picked that morning, were sold from the tailgate of Mary "The Peach Lady" Manley's vehicle 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 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.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Departmental Administration (DM) Assistant Secretary Dr. Gregory Parham speaks at a meeting of 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.

Quality Control Specialist Tim Russell uses a specialized micrometer to measure of machining performed at Port City Group’s Port City Castings Corporation manufactures 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.

3rd generation farmer CJ Isbell takes pride in in the pork products he produces at Keenbell Farm, Rockville, VA, on Friday, May 6, 2011. The farm was established in 1951. Business has been very good for farmers with pasture raised pigs. Isbell finds it a challenge to expand fast enough to meet demands. Keenbell Farms pork products range from sausage, to bacon, pork chops, roasts, bratwurst, and many more in his onsite sales room and the Fall Line Farms food hub that offer a wide variety of household food staples and specialty items. Members can pick their customized orders from 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 to sell on Lulus Local Food online listing where customers can 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.

Xavier Bauserman fills pint containers with fresh cherries from Bigg Riggs Farm, owned and operated by Calvin Riggleman, a Marine, who served in Iraq, and now he serves his community farm fresh organic produce, and food products made by his Bigg Riggs Farm team and sells at the historic Old Town Farmers' Market, in Alexandria, VA, one of several market locations for the farm, on Saturday, June 27, 2015. The team begins setup at 5AM to be ready for the market square sales opening at 7AM. The Market Square is the oldest farmers' market in the nation, continuously in operations for more than 260 years. The market was a vending site for produce from George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mr. Riggleman grew up on the family farm, in Hampshire County, West Virginia, but it was his buddies in Iraq who helped him figure out how to make it a going concern -- transforming it from an orchard with roadside sales to a multidimensional farm with a value added food processing to make a wide range of condiments such as apple butters, jams, sauces, and drink mixes, to name small selection of products for sales online, in community supported agriculture (CSA) operations, farmer’s markets and contracts with supermarket's such as Whole Foods and others. Riggleman follows a family tradition, of farming in this area, extending back to 1775 (the same year the USMC was born) and eight generations. The nearby, original family farm has been owned and operated for five generations. He has owned this farm for a few years and has several employees. Bigg Riggs Farm sells under the Homegrown for Heroes label. Farmers such as Mr. Riggleman may be eligible for support and services from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). New and beginning farmers are encouraged to contact the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in their county. USDA Service Centers are designed to be a single location where customers can access the services provided by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Rural Development agencies. 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.

The American flag is displayed on Bigg Riggs farm owned by U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) veteran Calvin Riggleman 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 (RD) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announces a $956,076 emergency rural health care grant and talks with Parish of Richland Hospital leadership in Delhi, LA on Jan 31, 2023.

The meeting includes hospital CFO Jinger Greer, Town of Delhi Mayoe Jesse Washington, and state, county, and local leaders or their representatives.

Hospital Service District No 1-A of the Parish of Richmond will use a $956,076 Emergency Rural Health Care grant to purchase medical supplies and equipment, including telehealth equipment and training. This investment will support immediate healthcare needs, prepare for future pandemic events, and increase access to quality healthcare services to improve community health outcomes for rural residents in rural north Louisiana communities.

The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are committed to making sure that people who need it most, no matter where they live, have access to high-quality and reliable healthcare services.

For more information, please go to rural.gov and usda.gov.

USDA media by Valerie H McMakin.

Farm road lined with a row of hay rolls, on a rainy day, at Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm and employer who, a few months earlier, refinanced a first of its 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.” Jernigan said.

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 as well. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation and 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%

The Dos Santos children in the window of their home in Rio Canoas in the Amazon region of Brazil, near Manaus. The houses are built on tilts and many dry foodstuffs by hanging them in the structure. Brazil. Photo: Julio Pantoja / World Bank

Photo ID: JPBR-1518-1-B World Bank

Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) driver James Hall is introduced to Timber Pizza Company Executive Chef Chef Dani Moreira in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, on Tuesday Aug 2, 2016. Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) is a Pennsylvania produce hub that fulfills orders of Washington Area customers such as Timber Pizza Company who use basil for pesto sauce and garnishing, tomatoes for sauce, and corn, mushrooms, zucchini, squash blossoms and more for pizza toppings. Timber Pizza co-owner Andrew Dana and Chris Brady say that during warm summer days, they often serve more than 260 pizzas in 4-hours from their mobile pizza oven. Popularity and profitability may come in part to their use of Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) that they say, has an efficient online ordering system, and then delivers the order to their pizza restaurant in Washington's Petworth District. USDA Photos by Tiffany Edmondson.

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 Agricultural Marketing Service please go to www.ams.usda.gov/

For more information about USDA please go to www.usda.gov

FWant to know more about the USDA Farmers Markets please go to www.usda.gov/farmersmarket

@USDA_RD

@USDA_AMS

#USDAFarmersMkt

Thanks to a world bank backed line of credit, rural development in Georgia has increased. Bodokia and her husband work year round and she hires seasonal workers. Photo: Gia Abdaladze / World Bank

Photo ID: GA-GE003

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack delivers remarks to stakeholders at the Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing Incorporated in Pilot Grove, IA on Saturday, Sep. 24, 2016. Steffensmeier's company recently installed solar panels that can provide 100 percent of the company’s energy needs. The Secretary was there to highlight the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) investments in other Iowa businesses and how renewable energy can strengthen the rural economy. USDA photo by Bill Menner. USDA photo by Bill Menner.

KfW provided support to reforestation of areas seriously deforested. Part of the project involved help for small projects in villages, to assist villagers in developing activities that would meet their needs, reduce dependency on forest land (especially while the new trees were small) and involve them in managing the replanted areas

This woman has to use prickly pear "paddles" (leaves) for cooking her bread in this "tabouna" (oven), as she cannot collect wood from the hills around now. Her daughter has started bee keeping (not traditionally done by females!)

You may notice the particularly Tunisian pins holding the costume - I have often wondered if they're not an inheritance of Roman times, the always make me think of the 'fibula' worn then ...

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.

From across the horseshoe shaped town of Pikeville, KY, various buildings, parking lots, temporary walkways, and above ground construction of the Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) expansion project, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY. After months of infrastructure construction and rain delays, one of Kentucky’s largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects is under way. The $44.6 million Community Facilities Loan will finance construction of a new medical office building and parking garage. The new medical office building will house outpatient surgery, endoscopy, surgical support and provide exam, waiting and office space for 23 primary and specialty care physicians. It also will contain a medical research center to support existing research – in conjunction with Pikeville College – on health disparities, genetic research related to the prevalence of cancer and other areas, including drug and treatment trials. The new parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces will be built adjacent to the new medical building, eliminating the need to shuttle patients back and forth from remote parking areas. The new garage will provide closer and easier proximity to medical and hospital services for all patients.

Wayne Rutherford, County Judge-Executive for Pike County, says funding from ARRA is a boon for his county because it will create jobs.

“This is great for Pike County’s economy. We know we have a great hospital, and with this support, it will be even better,” said Rutherford. “The unemployment rate here is above the state average and this will stimulate jobs. There will be construction, which means lots of jobs on the front end – and even more once it is built.”

Pike County is one of Kentucky’s persistent poverty counties and the current medical facility provides health care services for a rural population of more than 68,000. This project will create 1,430 direct and indirect construction jobs, in addition to 97 long-term jobs. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2012.

“This project is a prime example of the ARRA monies being utilized for much-needed health care facility expansion in an economically-depressed region of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky. “This hospital has received national recognition for its quality of care, and this money will allow them to expand and build upon their success and continue providing quality health care services to the region.”

PMC was named National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers in November 2009. The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor. To earn this recognition, PMC competed against more than 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn said the medical center is the largest employer in Pikeville and contributes nearly $2 million to the city through the payment of occupational taxes. He went on to say that Pikeville Medical’s success is also the city’s success because as other cities struggle with dwindling revenues, Pikeville has actually seen growth.

“This is a regional medical center that is very important to the city. Pikeville is a legal, financial and education hub for Eastern Kentucky and a gateway to rural communities in Virginia and West Virginia. There are half a million within a 50-mile radius – so it’s not just local people that depend on this facility,” said Blackburn. “From a regional standpoint it adds volume from a jobs standpoint. Everybody in this county knows someone or has family that works for Pikeville Medical Center.

“People in this area used to have to go out of the area for good jobs and quality medical services, but Pikeville Medical has changed that,” added Blackburn. "And it has impact on other parts of the city’s economy – hotels, restaurants and retail. It increases the quality of life tenfold.”

The Recovery Act was designed to spend money gradually over time in order to sustain a true recovery – with peak spending to occur early this year. While the experts agree that ARRA is already responsible for creating or saving approximately two million jobs, about 75 percent of recipients that reported on their Recover Act spending indicated their projects are less than half complete, meaning there is even more job impact from those dollars to come.

USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Weeks from completion, a methane reactor with endothermic gasifier surrounds 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%

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small toured William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on February 1, 2023. Under Secretary Torres Small will highlight USDA investments that help ensure our future health care workers have the resources they need. William Penn University is the recipient of two recent USDA investments through the Business and Industries Loan Guarantees CARES Act program. The professor of nursing presents the program to the Under Secretary in the nursing classroom. USDA media by Cecilia Lynch.

Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor speaks after being sworn in by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, in Urbandale, Iowa, on December 29, 2022. Under Secretary Taylor was joined at the ceremony by family who assisted with the bible. USDA Photo by Cecilia Lynch.

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.

Read more on:

Kyrgyz Republic

Agriculture and Food Security

Gender and Development

Improving Livelihoods of Rural Women through Development of Handicrafts Industry

McCurtain Co. Rural Water District's Ken Clagg, opens a valve to vent a pipeline, ensuring they are full and properly supplying Kiamichi Rural Water Department customers, such as the Smithville Schools and children, in Smithville, OK on Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

Today, 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 StrikeForce, please see: www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=STRIKE_FORCE

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.

The Senture facility houses computer server operations that support the full-service, 24/7 contact center's headquarters in London, Ky, on July 14, 2011. Senture recently built a new facility to accommodate current and future growth, through Rural Development's (RD), Rural Economic Development Loan Program. Senture received funding to build the new facility with funding administered through Jackson Energy Cooperative,. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

An angelic statue looks upon a church/schoolhouse, the latest addition that was moved to Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm 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%

U.S. Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen, (CO-07), gray blazer, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small , tan blazer, and USDA RD State Director Armando Valdez participates in a rural housing roundtable discussion with state and local leaders, and business leaders on March 16, 2023 in Salida, CO. Topics for the roundtable may include broadband, housing, water and how USDA can help with these needs in rural communities.

USDA is proud to partner with leaders like Congresswoman Pettersen to use these unprecedented resources to make sure people have access to good jobs, high-speed internet, modern infrastructure and safe, affordable housing. Together, we can ensure all people in rural Colorado and across the country have every opportunity to succeed. The Biden-Harris Administration awarded $28.8 million in 2022 to update our water infrastructure. The Biden-Harris Administration has invested more than $34 million in projects that will bring high-speed internet to people living in rural Colorado. Under the last round of ReConnect funding, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced more than $1.6 billion in awards, connecting 61,914 households with high-speed internet. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $65 billion investment to expand affordable, high-speed internet to all communities across the country and USDA will announce more awards later this spring with funding made available through this historic legislation. Before the end of the month, USDA RD will make nearly $80 million available through its Community Connect program. USDA photo by Rebecca Kaufman.

From across the horseshoe shaped town of Pikeville, KY, various buildings, parking lots, temporary walkways, and above ground construction of the Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) expansion project, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY. After months of infrastructure construction and rain delays, one of Kentucky’s largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects is under way. The $44.6 million Community Facilities Loan will finance construction of a new medical office building and parking garage. The new medical office building will house outpatient surgery, endoscopy, surgical support and provide exam, waiting and office space for 23 primary and specialty care physicians. It also will contain a medical research center to support existing research – in conjunction with Pikeville College – on health disparities, genetic research related to the prevalence of cancer and other areas, including drug and treatment trials. The new parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces will be built adjacent to the new medical building, eliminating the need to shuttle patients back and forth from remote parking areas. The new garage will provide closer and easier proximity to medical and hospital services for all patients.

Wayne Rutherford, County Judge-Executive for Pike County, says funding from ARRA is a boon for his county because it will create jobs.

“This is great for Pike County’s economy. We know we have a great hospital, and with this support, it will be even better,” said Rutherford. “The unemployment rate here is above the state average and this will stimulate jobs. There will be construction, which means lots of jobs on the front end – and even more once it is built.”

Pike County is one of Kentucky’s persistent poverty counties and the current medical facility provides health care services for a rural population of more than 68,000. This project will create 1,430 direct and indirect construction jobs, in addition to 97 long-term jobs. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2012.

“This project is a prime example of the ARRA monies being utilized for much-needed health care facility expansion in an economically-depressed region of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky. “This hospital has received national recognition for its quality of care, and this money will allow them to expand and build upon their success and continue providing quality health care services to the region.”

PMC was named National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers in November 2009. The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor. To earn this recognition, PMC competed against more than 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn said the medical center is the largest employer in Pikeville and contributes nearly $2 million to the city through the payment of occupational taxes. He went on to say that Pikeville Medical’s success is also the city’s success because as other cities struggle with dwindling revenues, Pikeville has actually seen growth.

“This is a regional medical center that is very important to the city. Pikeville is a legal, financial and education hub for Eastern Kentucky and a gateway to rural communities in Virginia and West Virginia. There are half a million within a 50-mile radius – so it’s not just local people that depend on this facility,” said Blackburn. “From a regional standpoint it adds volume from a jobs standpoint. Everybody in this county knows someone or has family that works for Pikeville Medical Center.

“People in this area used to have to go out of the area for good jobs and quality medical services, but Pikeville Medical has changed that,” added Blackburn. "And it has impact on other parts of the city’s economy – hotels, restaurants and retail. It increases the quality of life tenfold.”

The Recovery Act was designed to spend money gradually over time in order to sustain a true recovery – with peak spending to occur early this year. While the experts agree that ARRA is already responsible for creating or saving approximately two million jobs, about 75 percent of recipients that reported on their Recover Act spending indicated their projects are less than half complete, meaning there is even more job impact from those dollars to come.

USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Re-utilized buildings at various ends of multiple parking lots are common sights at the Pikeville Medical Center on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY. Nearby, the above ground construction phase of Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) expansion project, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY. After months of infrastructure construction and rain delays, one of Kentucky’s largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects is under way. The $44.6 million Community Facilities Loan will finance construction of a new medical office building and parking garage. The new medical office building will house outpatient surgery, endoscopy, surgical support and provide exam, waiting and office space for 23 primary and specialty care physicians. It also will contain a medical research center to support existing research – in conjunction with Pikeville College – on health disparities, genetic research related to the prevalence of cancer and other areas, including drug and treatment trials. The new parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces will be built adjacent to the new medical building, eliminating the need to shuttle patients back and forth from remote parking areas. The new garage will provide closer and easier proximity to medical and hospital services for all patients.

Wayne Rutherford, County Judge-Executive for Pike County, says funding from ARRA is a boon for his county because it will create jobs.

“This is great for Pike County’s economy. We know we have a great hospital, and with this support, it will be even better,” said Rutherford. “The unemployment rate here is above the state average and this will stimulate jobs. There will be construction, which means lots of jobs on the front end – and even more once it is built.”

Pike County is one of Kentucky’s persistent poverty counties and the current medical facility provides health care services for a rural population of more than 68,000. This project will create 1,430 direct and indirect construction jobs, in addition to 97 long-term jobs. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2012.

“This project is a prime example of the ARRA monies being utilized for much-needed health care facility expansion in an economically-depressed region of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky. “This hospital has received national recognition for its quality of care, and this money will allow them to expand and build upon their success and continue providing quality health care services to the region.”

PMC was named National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers in November 2009. The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor. To earn this recognition, PMC competed against more than 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn said the medical center is the largest employer in Pikeville and contributes nearly $2 million to the city through the payment of occupational taxes. He went on to say that Pikeville Medical’s success is also the city’s success because as other cities struggle with dwindling revenues, Pikeville has actually seen growth.

“This is a regional medical center that is very important to the city. Pikeville is a legal, financial and education hub for Eastern Kentucky and a gateway to rural communities in Virginia and West Virginia. There are half a million within a 50-mile radius – so it’s not just local people that depend on this facility,” said Blackburn. “From a regional standpoint it adds volume from a jobs standpoint. Everybody in this county knows someone or has family that works for Pikeville Medical Center.

“People in this area used to have to go out of the area for good jobs and quality medical services, but Pikeville Medical has changed that,” added Blackburn. "And it has impact on other parts of the city’s economy – hotels, restaurants and retail. It increases the quality of life tenfold.”

The Recovery Act was designed to spend money gradually over time in order to sustain a true recovery – with peak spending to occur early this year. While the experts agree that ARRA is already responsible for creating or saving approximately two million jobs, about 75 percent of recipients that reported on their Recover Act spending indicated their projects are less than half complete, meaning there is even more job impact from those dollars to come.

USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Maria Oselia de Souza and her daughter grind mandioca to sell in Rio Canoas in the Amazon region of Brazil near Manaus. Photo: Julio Pantoja / World Bank

Photo ID: JPBR-1526-7-B World Bank

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Engineer and Environmental Coordinator Kevin LeGrand (left) and McCurtain Co. Rural Water District’s Ken Clagg (right) look over the waters of Mountain Fork, a tributary of the Little River, seen from a water crossing at US 259 and Wey County 28000, at Smithville, OK, on April 8, 2015.

Today, residents, business owners, and governmental entities came to Smithville to celebrate the completion of a more than $25 million water project that for the first time ever provides public water to residents in Oklahoma’s Ouachita Mountains.

The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Grant provided $18 million through the USDA RD Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Water and Environmental Programs (WEP), and a $7 million WEP Loan. An additional $1 million in support from groups such as the Choctaw Nation completed the funding.

This project, among others are providing essential infrastructure to isolated, and mountainous pockets that contribute to extremely high rates of poverty in Oklahoma. This region is the poorest, most underserved part of the Choctaw Nation Promise Zone, and has the highest concentration of American Indian population.

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. It was an unprecedented effort to jumpstart the economy, create and save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century.

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 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.

Timber Pizza Company staff use fresh organic produce grown and delivered by Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) to prepare ingredients for their restaurant and mobile trailer menu in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday Aug 2, 2016. Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) is a Pennsylvania produce hub that fulfills orders of Washington Area customers such as Timber Pizza Company who use basil for pesto sauce and garnishing, tomatoes for sauce, and corn, mushrooms, zucchini, squash blossoms and more for pizza toppings. Timber Pizza co-owner Andrew Dana and Chris Brady say that during warm summer days, they often serve more than 260 pizzas in 4-hours from their mobile pizza oven. Popularity and profitability may come in part to their use of Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) that they say, has an efficient online ordering system, and then delivers the order to their pizza restaurant in Washington's Petworth District. USDA Photos by Tiffany Edmondson.

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 Agricultural Marketing Service please go to www.ams.usda.gov/

For more information about USDA please go to www.usda.gov

FWant to know more about the USDA Farmers Markets please go to www.usda.gov/farmersmarket

@USDA_RD

@USDA_AMS

#USDAFarmersMkt

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Xochitl Torres Small celebrates Mayor Errick Simmons' announcement that Delta Region Authority (DRA) has awarded a grant of $2.5M to Greenville, MS, on April 14, 2023. USDA, part of the Rural Partners Network (RPN) community, has identified regional airport renovations as its signature project, with the desire to create 200 jobs. Part of RPN's work is to attract and leverage federal funding beyond USDA to fund projects in RPN communities. DRA, through EDA, has granted an award to the City of Greenville for $2.5 M to bring the hangar up to Dept. of Defense code standards. This is a $15M project with other support, including private and public investments. This is significant in that it illustrates the first time that other federal dollars outside USDA have been used to fund a signature project in an RPN community (and in Mississippi, where RPN was launched in 2022!)

The Rural Partners Network has transformed the way we serve rural people in Mississippi and throughout the country. By partnering with communities to drive economic growth for generations to come, we are creating opportunities for all people to build successful futures. And this is just the beginning.

USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Falcon Lake is connected to the Rio Grande River that separates Mexico and Zapata County, TX, USA, on Dec 16, 2022. On the lake, in the distance, is a floating raw water pump that pushes through a floating pipeline that waterfowl perch on. In recent years, wildlife populations have increased in the lakeside habitat. After a planned U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA-funded dredging, when needed, the Siesta Shores Water Control and Improvement District will be able to access a more sustainable deeper water source.

USDA Rural Development RD Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is investing $102 million to expand access to housing and water infrastructure for socially disadvantaged rural people who live and work in 45 states and American Samoa during a visit to Siesta Shores and Falcon Lake. The 263 projects in which USDA invests will create economic opportunities and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in rural America.

The investments are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ensure that people living in rural America have equitable access to the infrastructure and economic opportunities they deserve.

“USDA invests in rural America because we know a strong community is rooted in its people,” Torres Small said. “Thanks to the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, USDA can help invest in opportunity and prosperity for all people, regardless of background or financial status, who make up the character and personality of our great country’s rural lands.”

The Siesta Shores Water Control and Improvement District in Zapata County, Texas, receives a $1 million Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant to purchase a filter upgrade along with new raw water pumps and electrical wiring. It also will install six-inch raw water piping and fittings to reach the deeper parts of the community’s water source, Falcon Lake.

These investments are in addition to the recent expansion of the Rural Partners Network (RPN), which is central to President Biden’s commitment to ensure all rural people can benefit from federal resources. Led by USDA with support from more than 20 federal agencies and commissions, RPN is part of an all-of-government strategy to champion rural people and places, including Native American communities.

These programs are Water and Waste Disposal Grants to Alleviate Health Risks on Tribal Lands and Colonias, Appalachian Regional Commission Grants, Delta Health Care Grants, Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grants, Housing Preservation Grants, Rural Community Development Initiative Grants, Tribal College Initiative Grants, Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants, Rural and Native Alaskan Village Grants, Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants and Community Facilities Disaster Grant Program.

USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Rolls of hay at Doug Jernigan Farms, a three-generation family farm 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%

Panorama of Falcon Lake, formed by the Falcon International Reservoir on the Rio Grande River between Mexico and Zapata County, TX, USA, on Dec 16, 2022. On the lake, in the distance, is a floating raw water pipeline that waterfowl perch on. In recent years, wildlife populations have increased in the lakeside habitat. After a planned U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA-funded dredging, when needed, the Siesta Shores Water Control and Improvement District will be able to access a more sustainable deeper water source.

USDA Rural Development RD Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is investing $102 million to expand access to housing and water infrastructure for socially disadvantaged rural people who live and work in 45 states and American Samoa during a visit to Siesta Shores and Falcon Lake. The 263 projects in which USDA invests will create economic opportunities and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in rural America.

The investments are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ensure that people living in rural America have equitable access to the infrastructure and economic opportunities they deserve.

“USDA invests in rural America because we know a strong community is rooted in its people,” Torres Small said. “Thanks to the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, USDA can help invest in opportunity and prosperity for all people, regardless of background or financial status, who make up the character and personality of our great country’s rural lands.”

The Siesta Shores Water Control and Improvement District in Zapata County, Texas, receives a $1 million Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant to purchase a filter upgrade along with new raw water pumps and electrical wiring. It also will install six-inch raw water piping and fittings to reach the deeper parts of the community’s water source, Falcon Lake.

These investments are in addition to the recent expansion of the Rural Partners Network (RPN), which is central to President Biden’s commitment to ensure all rural people can benefit from federal resources. Led by USDA with support from more than 20 federal agencies and commissions, RPN is part of an all-of-government strategy to champion rural people and places, including Native American communities.

These programs are Water and Waste Disposal Grants to Alleviate Health Risks on Tribal Lands and Colonias, Appalachian Regional Commission Grants, Delta Health Care Grants, Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grants, Housing Preservation Grants, Rural Community Development Initiative Grants, Tribal College Initiative Grants, Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants, Rural and Native Alaskan Village Grants, Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants and Community Facilities Disaster Grant Program.

USDA Media illustration by Lance Cheung.

In this retention of Kentucky, water runs on, around and through the slate rock geology that surrounds and supports the construction phase of Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) expansion project, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY.

After months of infrastructure construction and rain delays, one of Kentucky’s largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects is under way. The $44.6 million Community Facilities Loan will finance construction of a new medical office building and parking garage. The new medical office building will house outpatient surgery, endoscopy and surgical support and provide exam, waiting and office space for 23 primary and specialty care physicians. It also will contain a medical research center to support existing research – in conjunction with Pikeville College – on health disparities, genetic research related to the prevalence of cancer and other areas, including drug and treatment trials. The new seven-floor parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces will be built adjacent to the new medical building. This will eliminate the need to shuttle patients back and forth from remote parking areas, as the center’s current parking areas are filled to capacity on a daily basis. The new garage will provide closer and easier proximity to medical and hospital services for all patients.

Wayne Rutherford, County Judge-Executive for Pike County, says funding from ARRA is a boon for his county because it will create jobs.

“This is great for Pike County’s economy. We know we have a great hospital, and with this support, it will be even better,” said Rutherford. “The unemployment rate here is above the state average and this will stimulate jobs. There will be construction, which means lots of jobs on the front end – and even more once it is built.”

Pike County is one of Kentucky’s persistent poverty counties and the current medical facility provides health care services for a rural population of more than 68,000. This project will create 1,430 direct and indirect construction jobs, in addition to 97 long-term jobs. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2012.

“This project is a prime example of the ARRA monies being utilized for much-needed health care facility expansion in an economically-depressed region of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky. “This hospital has received national recognition for its quality of care, and this money will allow them to expand and build upon their success and continue providing quality health care services to the region.”

PMC was named National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers in November 2009. The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor. To earn this recognition, PMC competed against more than 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn said the medical center is the largest employer in Pikeville and contributes nearly $2 million to the city through the payment of occupational taxes. He went on to say that Pikeville Medical’s success is also the city’s success because as other cities struggle with dwindling revenues, Pikeville has actually seen growth.

“This is a regional medical center that is very important to the city. Pikeville is a legal, financial and education hub for Eastern Kentucky and a gateway to rural communities in Virginia and West Virginia. There are half a million within a 50-mile radius – so it’s not just local people that depend on this facility,” said Blackburn. “From a regional standpoint it adds volume from a jobs standpoint. Everybody in this county knows someone or has family that works for Pikeville Medical Center.

“People in this area used to have to go out of the area for good jobs and quality medical services, but Pikeville Medical has changed that,” added Blackburn. "And it has impact on other parts of the city’s economy – hotels, restaurants and retail. It increases the quality of life tenfold.”

The Recovery Act was designed to spend money gradually over time in order to sustain a true recovery – with peak spending to occur early this year. While the experts agree that ARRA is already responsible for creating or saving approximately two million jobs, about 75 percent of recipients that reported on their Recover Act spending indicated their projects are less than half complete, meaning there is even more job impact from those dollars to come.

USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

From across the horseshoe shaped town of Pikeville, KY, various buildings, parking lots, temporary walkways, and above ground construction of the Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) expansion project, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY. After months of infrastructure construction and rain delays, one of Kentucky’s largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects is under way. The $44.6 million Community Facilities Loan will finance construction of a new medical office building and parking garage. The new medical office building will house outpatient surgery, endoscopy, surgical support and provide exam, waiting and office space for 23 primary and specialty care physicians. It also will contain a medical research center to support existing research – in conjunction with Pikeville College – on health disparities, genetic research related to the prevalence of cancer and other areas, including drug and treatment trials. The new parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces will be built adjacent to the new medical building, eliminating the need to shuttle patients back and forth from remote parking areas. The new garage will provide closer and easier proximity to medical and hospital services for all patients.

Wayne Rutherford, County Judge-Executive for Pike County, says funding from ARRA is a boon for his county because it will create jobs.

“This is great for Pike County’s economy. We know we have a great hospital, and with this support, it will be even better,” said Rutherford. “The unemployment rate here is above the state average and this will stimulate jobs. There will be construction, which means lots of jobs on the front end – and even more once it is built.”

Pike County is one of Kentucky’s persistent poverty counties and the current medical facility provides health care services for a rural population of more than 68,000. This project will create 1,430 direct and indirect construction jobs, in addition to 97 long-term jobs. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2012.

“This project is a prime example of the ARRA monies being utilized for much-needed health care facility expansion in an economically-depressed region of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky. “This hospital has received national recognition for its quality of care, and this money will allow them to expand and build upon their success and continue providing quality health care services to the region.”

PMC was named National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers in November 2009. The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor. To earn this recognition, PMC competed against more than 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn said the medical center is the largest employer in Pikeville and contributes nearly $2 million to the city through the payment of occupational taxes. He went on to say that Pikeville Medical’s success is also the city’s success because as other cities struggle with dwindling revenues, Pikeville has actually seen growth.

“This is a regional medical center that is very important to the city. Pikeville is a legal, financial and education hub for Eastern Kentucky and a gateway to rural communities in Virginia and West Virginia. There are half a million within a 50-mile radius – so it’s not just local people that depend on this facility,” said Blackburn. “From a regional standpoint it adds volume from a jobs standpoint. Everybody in this county knows someone or has family that works for Pikeville Medical Center.

“People in this area used to have to go out of the area for good jobs and quality medical services, but Pikeville Medical has changed that,” added Blackburn. "And it has impact on other parts of the city’s economy – hotels, restaurants and retail. It increases the quality of life tenfold.”

The Recovery Act was designed to spend money gradually over time in order to sustain a true recovery – with peak spending to occur early this year. While the experts agree that ARRA is already responsible for creating or saving approximately two million jobs, about 75 percent of recipients that reported on their Recover Act spending indicated their projects are less than half complete, meaning there is even more job impact from those dollars to come.

USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD) Cooperative Developer, Seed Farmer, and Co-op Founder Mai Nguyen grows Ethiopian Blue Tinge Emmer, Canus, Hollis, Marquis, and Fortuna wheat, as well as some chickpea and Hunan popping bean, at her small experimental plot, 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.

In this retention of Kentucky, water runs on, around and through the slate rock geology that surrounds and supports the construction phase of Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) expansion project, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Pikeville, KY.

After months of infrastructure construction and rain delays, one of Kentucky’s largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects is under way. The $44.6 million Community Facilities Loan will finance construction of a new medical office building and parking garage. The new medical office building will house outpatient surgery, endoscopy and surgical support and provide exam, waiting and office space for 23 primary and specialty care physicians. It also will contain a medical research center to support existing research – in conjunction with Pikeville College – on health disparities, genetic research related to the prevalence of cancer and other areas, including drug and treatment trials. The new seven-floor parking garage with more than 1,000 spaces will be built adjacent to the new medical building. This will eliminate the need to shuttle patients back and forth from remote parking areas, as the center’s current parking areas are filled to capacity on a daily basis. The new garage will provide closer and easier proximity to medical and hospital services for all patients.

Wayne Rutherford, County Judge-Executive for Pike County, says funding from ARRA is a boon for his county because it will create jobs.

“This is great for Pike County’s economy. We know we have a great hospital, and with this support, it will be even better,” said Rutherford. “The unemployment rate here is above the state average and this will stimulate jobs. There will be construction, which means lots of jobs on the front end – and even more once it is built.”

Pike County is one of Kentucky’s persistent poverty counties and the current medical facility provides health care services for a rural population of more than 68,000. This project will create 1,430 direct and indirect construction jobs, in addition to 97 long-term jobs. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2012.

“This project is a prime example of the ARRA monies being utilized for much-needed health care facility expansion in an economically-depressed region of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development in Kentucky. “This hospital has received national recognition for its quality of care, and this money will allow them to expand and build upon their success and continue providing quality health care services to the region.”

PMC was named National Hospital of the Year by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers in November 2009. The hospital was among 400 elite health care facilities to apply for this prestigious honor. To earn this recognition, PMC competed against more than 400 hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, the John Hopkins Hospital, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn said the medical center is the largest employer in Pikeville and contributes nearly $2 million to the city through the payment of occupational taxes. He went on to say that Pikeville Medical’s success is also the city’s success because as other cities struggle with dwindling revenues, Pikeville has actually seen growth.

“This is a regional medical center that is very important to the city. Pikeville is a legal, financial and education hub for Eastern Kentucky and a gateway to rural communities in Virginia and West Virginia. There are half a million within a 50-mile radius – so it’s not just local people that depend on this facility,” said Blackburn. “From a regional standpoint it adds volume from a jobs standpoint. Everybody in this county knows someone or has family that works for Pikeville Medical Center.

“People in this area used to have to go out of the area for good jobs and quality medical services, but Pikeville Medical has changed that,” added Blackburn. "And it has impact on other parts of the city’s economy – hotels, restaurants and retail. It increases the quality of life tenfold.”

The Recovery Act was designed to spend money gradually over time in order to sustain a true recovery – with peak spending to occur early this year. While the experts agree that ARRA is already responsible for creating or saving approximately two million jobs, about 75 percent of recipients that reported on their Recover Act spending indicated their projects are less than half complete, meaning there is even more job impact from those dollars to come.

USDA Media by Lance Cheung.