 Check out what is happening in this month's issue:
Helping Livestock Producers in Morgan County
I had the great privilege of representing USDA Rural Development (RD) at the Morgan County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) Annual Meeting. USDA RD was recognized for the award of a $5,000,000 Meat & Poultry Intermediary Relending Program Grant that was awarded in 2023.
The funding provided MCEDC with revolving loan funds to assist in funding meat processing facilities in Morgan County and throughout Colorado. MCEDC is using the loan funds to assist with the expansion of Stagecoach Meat Company, a livestock producer processing plant that markets cuts as well as quarters, halves, and whole beef that is directly sold to the consumers, as well as providing value added wholesale and retail meat products. Thank you! to MCEDC for the recognition and we look forward in continuing to partner with you to help grow rural prosperity in Morgan County.
Picture above: Kristin Clifford-Basil, MCEDC, Rural Development Acting State Director Irene Etsitty, and Rural Development Loan Specialist Cindy Chadwick.
Celebrate Economic Development Week
Colorado Economic Development Week is May 6th-10th! This year’s theme is Narrative Economics: the Power of Storytelling. Learn how to champion economic development through effective storytelling by a webinar on May 9th at 10 am MT - The Power of Data Storytelling: Transforming Numbers into Compelling Narratives - REGISTER TODAY!
And check how Rural Development is helping rural communities with economic development, infrastructure, and housing by visiting our Success Stories page.
Seeking Your Input: Help us to help you through our Better Grants Service Initiative
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden invites public input on a plan to make it easier for more people in rural areas to access grant funding that will strengthen their local economies, communities and quality of life. Through the Better Grants Better Service initiative, USDA Rural Development is gathering and analyzing input from customers, agency staff and other stakeholders to streamline its more than 30 grant programs into a superior customer experience.
These programs provide people in rural and Tribal communities access to better housing,
infrastructure and business opportunities. The improvements will help lessen the burden on communities that may lack time, resources and staffing to submit successful applications.
Interested in hearing more? Check out a short video available in English or Spanish.
The first two areas of focus will be equipment-only and technical assistance grants. To submit ideas for ways in which the agency can improve these grants, email
SM.RD.Bet...@usda.gov by May 31, 2024.
Talking Infrastructure at Colorado Rural Water Conference
Rural Development staff attended the 43rd Annual Colorado Rural Water conference in Loveland Colorado. Acting State Director Irene Etsitty and Community Program Director Duane Dale spoke during the opening session, providing an overview of all Rural Development programs, available funding, and followed up later with a Town Hall question and answer session about WEP project eligibility and application processes.
Andi Cox and Allison Ruiz worked the USDA booth at the vendor hall, making many new connections and catching up with prior recipients of USDA funding. They also presented the classroom training “Funding Opportunities for rural communities with USDA Rural Development”.
Also, during this conference Andy Gupta presented “Engineering Guidelines and Training for Projects with USDA Rural Development” this is the first time debuted at this conference.
Rural Development Celebrates Bring Your Child to Work Day
During the open house, Team USDA set up a station highlighting the efforts Rural Development, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency staff do each day in helping the rural communities thrive. This year, we also had a special guest stop by our booth, BOR's mascot Otto Otter.
Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
If you're an agricultural producer or rural small business and interested in clean energy and possibly lowering your energy costs, consider the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for funding assistance. Applications are currently being accepted for two upcoming deadlines: June 30th and September 30th.
Funding may be used for the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems, such as: Biomass (for example: biodiesel and ethanol, anaerobic digesters, and solid fuels), hydropower below 30 megawatts, small and large wind or solar generation.
Agricultural producers and small businesses may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and improvements such as insulation, lighting, doors, windows and much more.
Got some questions - want to hear more? Join our team for Office Hours on May 29th at 10 AM MST - register here.
We look forward to having a great conversation about the program. Send applications, inquiries and other requests to SM.CO...@usda.gov
Team USDA Is Hosting Monthly Beginning Farmer and Rancher Webinars
Mark your calendar and join us every 3rd Wednesday of the month for the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Webinar Series. These informational virtual events are held 12:00pm to 1:30pm, upcoming dates and topics include:
- May 15, 2023: Rural Development financial assistance Rural Energy for America Programs (REAP) and Value-Added Producer Grants. To register for this session click HERE.
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June 19, 2024: Working with the Risk Management Agency (RMA) Crop & Livestock Insurance
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July 17, 2024: Technical and financial assistance to producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns (NRCS)
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August 21, 2024: Soil health and how use Web Soil Survey
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September18, 2024: Urban agriculture
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October 16, 2024: What CSU has to offer.
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November 18, 2024: Colorado Department of Agriculture new farmer & rancher resources
For more information about this series, please contact one of USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinators/Champions: NRCS: Cindy Einspahr - 720-930-9884, RD Amy Mund - 720-544-2906, and FSA: Elizabeth Thomas - 720-544-2879.
Join Rural Development Colorado in welcoming a new team member - Jason Nagy. Jason will be working with our Business Programs by assisting with the Rural Energy for America Program as a Climate Fellow. Jason has 10 years of federal government experience (Export-Import Bank of the United States and US Trade and Development Agency). Following this and for the last 10 years, Jason has been a resident of Denver developing international and domestic projects as an entrepreneur. Welcome to our team!
Did you know that USDA Rural Development's Business Programs provide financial backing and technical assistance to stimulate business creation and growth? These programs work through partnerships with public and private community based organizations and financial institutions to provide financial assistance, business development, and technical assistance to rural businesses.
One program in particular, the Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, helps increase economic development in rural communities by increasing access to capital through loan guarantees. This program also assists commercial lenders in providing additional financing options for rural businesses.
Interested borrowers should inquire about the program with their lender. The lender, with Agency concurrence, will establish and justify the guaranteed loan term based on the use of guaranteed loan funds, the useful economic life of the assets being financed and those used as collateral, and the borrower’s repayment ability. The loan term will not exceed 40 years.
For more information on the program in Colorado, contact John Reddy, john....@usda.gov, (719) 992-3651 or Robert McElroy, robert....@usda.gov, (720) 544-2916.
The USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Section 502 Direct Loan Program provides loans to low and very-low-income households to affordably purchase decent, safe housing in rural areas. Recently Victoria Martinez, Delta Office Housing Loan Specialist was able to help make the dream of homeownership a reality for a single mother in Garfield County. We hope you enjoy reading her story below and will consider looking into starting your own journey to homeownership today.
Go for it, homeownership can work!!
Writing her own homeownership story, Karla Quintana and her two children have lived in Garfield County, CO since 2011. After having to move out of a garage studio apartment, the family was able to move in with friends and rent the bottom half of their home. While owning a home would be ideal, she wasn’t sure it was obtainable. Locally, Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Roaring Fork Valley opened a homeownership application process. The Habitat for Humanity application process is held to find applicants that can be accepted into their next housing build.
After a bit of procrastination, Quintana decided to apply on the last open day of the application period. She filled out her application during her lunch hour and dropped it off after work. Imagine her surprise when one of the volunteers from the Homeowner Selection Committee, from HFH Roaring Fork Valley contacted her to let her know she was selected.
HFH Roaring Fork Valley has been partnering with local families for over 25 years to help them build a safe and secure place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside staff and volunteers and in the end, families can purchase a home with an affordable mortgage.
That’s when the real work began. Besides working her job at a local bank, she had to contribute sweat equity to the project. Through the Habitat for Humanity homebuyer program, homeowners must complete 250 hours of sweat equity to purchase their home. Quintana helped with the framing of her own home with the penalized walls from Simple Homes in Denver, painting, and she spent time helping customers in the local ReStore. The building group was also fortunate to have her involved as she is an excellent cook and would cook meals for the volunteers.
The process took almost two years to complete, but when it was finished HFH Roaring Fork Valley worked with Quintana to apply for a home loan through the USDA Rural Development (RD) Single Family Housing Direct Loan Program. The program assists low- and very-low-income applicants obtain decent, safe and sanitary housing in eligible rural areas by providing payment assistance to increase an applicant’s repayment ability. HFH Roaring Fork Valley is a packager for the USDA RD direct loan program and as such they assist prospective rural homebuyers complete the application process. Through the partnerships with HFH Roaring Fork Valley and the USDA RD Delta office staff, Quintana was successful in receiving a 502 Loan to obtain a loan for the purchase of her own home.
Quintana was a great fit for the Rural Development program and was able to get an affordable mortgage. The home features 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms, something her family hasn’t had for quite a while. When asked what she would tell others looking at homeownership, she said “Go for it, nothing wrong with trying. I never expected to have my own home. So why not give it a try - it can work”.
The family is now getting settled into their new home. Each of her children now have their own room. Quintana doesn’t even have to share a bathroom. Ironically, when the family moved in there was a little bit of fun and games. They hadn’t noticed during the build that the lock on the bathroom door was installed on the wrong side. That was until her son went to use the bathroom and his sister jokingly locked him in. A process that ended with a call to mom to come help. Rest assured the lock was changed and it is all steam ahead for the family.
Section 502 Direct Funding Update
USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Section 502 Direct Loan Program provides loans to low and very-low-income households to affordably purchase decent, safe housing in rural areas. The FY24 budget reduced funds for the 502 Direct Loan Program by about a third—from $1.25 billion last fiscal year to $880 million this fiscal year. This will unfortunately limit the number of purchase loans we are able to offer this year.
This program remains very important to many people across the country. Staff are working as quickly as possible to process new and existing applications; however, application processing may encounter significant delays due to the backlog and limited funding. Because of differences in state allocations and market conditions, processing timeframes will differ state-to-state.
We encourage prospective applicants to visit the USDA Single Family Housing Self-Assessment site to check all the qualification requirements to see if they may be eligible for the Direct program. Prospective applicants are also encouraged to consider the Section 502 Guaranteed Loan Program which has ample funding, and assists approved lenders in providing low- and moderate-income households the opportunity to purchase decent, safe housing in rural areas.
Section 504 Grant Funding Update
USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Section 504 Home Repair Program provides loans and grants to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes. Grants recipients must be elderly and repairs must remove health and safety hazards. The FY24 budget reduced the Section 504 Home Repair Grant Program to $25 million (in comparison to $32 million last fiscal year) and rescinded $28 million of the unobligated balances that carried over from prior year appropriations. With the lower program level and no available carryover funds, this will unfortunately limit the number of grants we are able to offer this year.
Despite these Section 502 and Section 504 budget constraints and current challenges, RD staff are working hard every day to help people buy or repair modest homes in rural areas.
In Colorado, our Community Programs delivers both the Community Facilities Program (CF) and the Water and Environmental Programs (WEP). The CF program provides grants, loans, and loan guarantees to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as one that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial, or business undertakings.
Under the WEP Programs, the Water and Waste Direct program provides affordable financing through long term low-interest loans. Grant funding is used to make loan assistance more affordable with a priority on low-income communities having highest priority for the largest percentage of grant funds.
This fiscal year we encountered a reduction in funding for these programs, however, we understand their importance to rural communities across the country. During this time, we want to ensure our rural communities that we are committed to improving the basic quality of life and assisting in the development and sustainability of rural America.
Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant (SDGG)
U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development program to provide help to new and existing cooperatives to strengthen their hands-on assistance, like leadership training and strategic planning, to small business owners and agricultural producers. Stakeholder Announcement. Application Deadline: 6/3/2024
Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG)
U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development program designed to improve the economic condition of rural areas by assisting individuals or entities in the startup, expansion, or operational improvement of rural cooperatives and other business entities.Application deadline: 6/3/2024
Intermediary Relending Program
Low-interest loans available to local lenders known as intermediaries, who then re-lend the funds to businesses to improve economic conditions and create new opportunities in rural communities. Application deadline 6/30/2024. For more information visit here.
Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program
Funding for non-profits, Tribes, colleges, and universities to create revolving loan fund programs and support training and technical assistance for rural microentrepreneurs and microenterprises. Application deadline 6/30/2024. For more information visit here.
Rural Economic Development Loan / Grant Program
Zero-interest loans to local utilities to pass through to local businesses for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. These programs also provide grants to local utility organizations which use the funding to establish revolving loan funds to finance community facilities. Application deadliner 6/30/2024. For more information visit here.
USDA Partners with FarmRaise to Offer Educational Tools and Resources to Promote Financial Access and Equity for Agricultural Producers
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled a new, online Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Decision Tool and farm loan resources available to agricultural producers and cooperators who help producers access USDA disaster assistance, farm loans and other federal farm programs. The new LIP tool and the farm loan informational video resources were developed in partnership with FarmRaise and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). These tools are now available at www.farmraise.com/usda-fsa.
Civic Lab - Request for Partnership application for its Building Rural Community Systems initiative.
CivicLab is a nonprofit institute that works with cross-sector teams to address complex social challenges. There work focuses on improving postsecondary education and talent systems at the local, regional, and state levels. Recently, they received a $2.6M grant to support 10 rural partnerships to participate in a system-building cohort designed to improve the connection of postsecondary education to employment opportunities aligned with future economies. The program begins in June 2024 and completes in December 2026. Informational videos and other resources can be found at www.RuralLearningSystems.org. Applications are due on 5/10/2024.
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