Rural Business and Cooperative Programs Acting Administrator, John Paladino (center), tours Salm Partners, LLC, a sausage manufacturer, in Denmark, WI, with Chris Salm, (left) owner, and Stan Gruszynski (right), Wisconsin Rural Development State Director. Salm Partners, LLC partners with a number of local and regional producers and suppliers.

Today, the diversity of businesses found in our rural communities closely mirrors that of metropolitan areas; coming in all shapes and sizes, small and large; start-up and existing, entrepreneurial and franchised; corporations, companies and partnerships. Both rural and metropolitan, businesses provide jobs, access to goods and services, and open doors to new opportunities for regional development and growth. Read more »

USDA Rural Business Administrator Judy Canales joined State Director Jay Healy recently for discussions about, and tours of, three Rural Development financed projects currently underway in Massachusetts.   Their first stop was at Berkshire East Ski Area in Charlemont, where the Administrator led a roundtable discussion about USDA’s renewable energy initiatives and celebrated the installation of a new, 900kW wind turbine at the ski area.

Rural Development provided Berkshire East a loan guarantee through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  The funds were used, in conjunction with commercial financing through Greenfield Savings Bank and State Clean Energy Center grants, to purchase and install the wind turbine at the family-owned ski area. Read more »

USDA Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Programs, Judy Canales (center); Rural Development State Director, Clarence W. Hawkins (second from left) and other officials tour the Game Equipment manufacturing plant.

The Administrator for USDA’s Rural Business and Cooperative Programs, Judy Canales was in Louisiana recently to tour Game Equipment, a Rural Development –funded project in Donaldsonville.  Louisiana Rural Development State Director, Clarence W. Hawkins; Jeff Jobe, Regional Coordinator of USDA Business programs; Peachy Melancon, wife of Congressman Charlie Melancon; Anne Perry, Regional Representative of Louisiana Economic Development Office (LED); John Broussard, Business and Cooperative Programs  Director; Lee Jones, Assistant to State Director and lenders were also on the tour.  Read more »

USDA Administrator Judy Canales (second from right) tours the McKechnie Vehicle Components plant in Nicholasville, Ky. and is shown some of the automotive parts made on site. Administrator Canales toured the plant with U.S. Rep. Ben Chander , Nicholasville Mayor Russell Meyer, Jeff Ball of Citizens Commerce Bank and Tom Fern, State Director for Rural Development.

While touring the facilities of McKechnie Vehicle Components in Kentucky last month, USDA Rural Business and Cooperative Programs Administrator Judy Canales got up close and personal with many of the company’s employees whose jobs were saved thanks to assistance from Rural Development and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Read more »