Rural Connections Blog

On July 18, 2024,USDA Rural Development held an event to highlight the agency's work in favor of energy resilience in rural areas as well as the interagency efforts between agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The federal government's unprecedented appropriations through the Inflation Reduction Act(also known as IRA) represents a historic opportunity to impact the resilience of communities. Collaboration between the DOE, EPA, and USDARD is crucial to maximizing the use of funds. In this context Rural Partners Network provides the platform to promote partnerships with federal agencies to expedite access to funds.

On May 16, 2024, The Sherrod Institute held an event that was centered around advancing equity with agriculture in Albany, GA.  The Sherrod Institute wanted to share the fruits of their work to help safeguard and improve the USDA experience for underserved farmers while also hearing from the Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas Vilsack. 

Community meetings are a vital part of many rural towns. They’re an opportunity for people to voice their opinions on everyday issues and work together to propose solutions.  

For the town of Fernley in Nevada, their first Rural Partners Network (RPN) Community Network meeting on February 3rd, 2024, was a milestone moment to do just that. 

What do you do when the place you live in doesn’t have a single grocery store? 

For the town of Searchlight, Nevada, the answer was to have a Community Network meeting. 

Rural Partners Network Community Liaisons have a wide variety of responsibilities, from helping communities identify and access federal funding opportunities to preparing an elementary school for a visit from the Secretary of Agriculture.