reap

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development conducted a meeting in Indianapolis in early April to discuss the agency’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  The event, hosted by the Indiana Soybean Alliance/Indiana Corn Growers Association presented information on RD’s new initiative to fund flex-fuel pumps.  Approximately 50 distributors, grant writers, and stakeholders attended the event.  Representatives from the American Coalition for Ethanol, Dresser Wayne, Gilbarco, Indiana Petroleum Markers & Convenience Store Association, and others joined in the discussion.

A newly released report Solar Energy Use in U.S. Agriculture. Overview and Policy Issues published by USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, serves as an overview of solar energy use by farmers and ranchers in the U.S.

Earlier this month, acting USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Doug O’Brien heard one testimonial after another from a variety of people who thanked the federal government for providing funding and services to a portion of western North Dakota that was hard hit by outmigration two decades ago.

The area has been designated one of seven “Great Regions” in the nation by USDA Rural Development.  However, sixteen years prior it was named a Rural Economic Area Partnership or a “REAP” pilot project by then-Senator Byron Dorgan.  On February 16, a celebration was held in Dickinson that attracted the non-profit’s board members, community leaders, business owners, and USDA personnel who provided technical assistance over the years.

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.

USDA Business and Cooperative Programs Administrator Judith Canales convened a roundtable of renewable energy experts from the southeast in Nashville on January 26, to discuss development and marketing of bioenergy technologies and advanced biofuels.

Red Caboose Winery, a family owned business in Meridian, Texas, was recently selected as a recipient of a USDA Rural Energy for America Program Grant.  A $15,617 grant is being used to help lower the energy costs of running the rural winery that produces 10,000 cases of wine annually.

Harvey Allen isn’t the kind of man who wastes time. His ranch and well service in the tiny community of Elfrida, Arizona, means early mornings, long days and little leisure. But it’s not unusual lately to find him spending time staring at the meter of his ranch’s new photovoltaic (PV) electric system. He just can’t seem to get enough of watching that gauge!

Right now, across the country, innovative agricultural producers are turning farm animal manure into renewable energy through a process called anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is a proven technology – available to farmers today – that represents a huge economic opportunity for rural America, while simultaneously addressing our nation's energy and climate challenges.  This technology utilizes bacteria that breakdown waste and produce a biogas that contains methane and carbon dioxide. The biogas is then captured and used as a source of renewable energy, primarily by combusting the gas to generate electricity.

Representatives of USDA Rural Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently met with leaders from the Sac and Fox Tribe of Mississippi in Iowa to share information on ways the two federal agencies could assist the tribe with funds for such things as community improvement projects and job-creation and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Helene’s Hilltop Orchard, LLC, a family destination and small business in Merrill, Wis., was recently selected as a recipient of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Renewable Energy for America Program Grant. A $19,750 grant will be used to help lower the energy costs of running their rural business.