USDA is distributing more than $1.2 billion through seven Rural Development programs to cooperatives for projects ranging from health care to utility infrastructure.
The investment will support 112 different projects in 36 states and Puerto Rico. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the news in Colorado as part of the Biden Administration's Rural America Event Series.
“For more than a century, the cooperative business model has been integral to rural advancement and the American economy, and today accounts for more than 2 million jobs across the country,” Vilsack said in a statement. “The investments we are announcing today will ensure that cooperatives continue the important work of serving the unique needs of their communities, filling market gaps and building local wealth and opportunities for connection across rural America.”
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CoBank in Colorado and the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation in Virginia will each receive loan amounts of $450 million through the Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. Other programs in the announcement include the Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program, Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program, Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program, Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program, Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant Program and Value-Added Producer Grant Program.
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