USDA Rural Development United States Department of Agriculture

Topics USDA Mission Areas Rural Development Mission Rural Development Programs Strategic Economic & Community Development (SECD) Cooperative Development Local Foods

One USDA, Seven Mission Areas Research, Education, and Economics Farm & Foreign Ag Services Food and Nutrition Consumer Services Food Safety Marketing & Regulatory Programs Natural Resources and Environment Rural Development Rachel’s note – For the purpose of SET, it might be good on this slide to show where Extension and the four Regional Rural Development Centers (such as the SRDC) sit (within the REE mission area – Research, Education, and Economics)

Rural Development’s Mission Committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America

Rural Development Agencies The agencies and programs work together and complement each other to build a thriving rural community.

Rural Utility Service (RUS) Electric Programs Telecommunications Programs Water & Environmental Programs

Rural Housing Service (RHS) Multi-Family Housing Single-Family Housing Community Facilities

Rural Business & Cooperative Service Business Programs Energy Programs Cooperative Programs

Rural Development Type of Financial Assistance http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RD_ProgramMatrix.pdf

Rural Development Offices Discuss all the various contact levels to reach RD personnel RD State Office RD General Field Representative for Telecommunications RBS Coordinators Energy Coordinators CED Coordinators http://www.rd.usda.gov/browse-state

Regional Community Economic Development Coordinators Midwest: Christine Sorensen Northeast: Angela Callie West: Tim O’Connell Regional Coordinators in RD support CED Leads in the states in assisting communities in building their capacity and providing targeted technical assistance. By doing so, it is expected that Rural Development will increase the communities’ readiness for sustainable economic development and build project pipelines to take advantage of other RD Programs down the road. Additionally, CED staff can also help ensure that partnerships are established and that other resources are leverages so unserved and underserved socially disadvantaged and minority groups can be effectively assisted. RD CED Coordinators are responsible to Implement Stroger Economies Together(SET) and Farm Bill’s Section 6025 requirements (Strategic Economic & Community Development SECD – they work closely with CED staff in state offices and the field to support these initiatives and to provide direct technical expertise and support. South: Gregory Dale

Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD) Section 6025 of 2014 Farm Bill Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD)

What is the Section 6025 Strategic Economic & Community Development (SECD)? New requirement under 2014 Farm Bill Sets aside up to 10% of USDA program funds under: Community Facilities Water and Environmental Programs Rural Business Development Grants Business & Industry Guaranteed Loans for prioritizing projects that support the implementation of a multi-jurisdictional plan.

Underlying Programs Community Facilities - provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. Water and Environmental Programs - provides technical assistance and financing  Rural Business Development Grants - supports targeted technical assistance, training and other activities Business & Industry Loans - bolsters the existing private credit structure through the guaranteeing of loans for rural businesses

Why SECD? Rural Development wants to excel at helping communities use USDA programs strategically by: Encouraging regional planning and collaboration with partners within regions. Using regional assets to promote the region. Leveraging resources and financing creatively. Recognizing that poverty reduction is a systemic problem that requires systemic solutions, the Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD) is an opportunity to prioritize projects that support the implementation of a regional economic development plan. RD is moving away from transactional model of one-off project financing

The Regional Approach: A Proven Success Rural Development rewards projects that: Number of points Are tied to a Multijurisdictional Plan & meet at least 2 objectives Up to 10 points Have a Regional Plan with clear objectives and the ability to establish measureable performance measures Up to 2 points Have a plan developed from a collaboration of multiple stakeholders from its service area

A Good Plan… Rural Development rewards projects that include: Number of points Resources – The Plan demonstrates an understanding of the applicable regional assets that could support the Plan Up to 2 points Other Federal Investments - The Plan includes practical Investments from Federal agencies other than the USDA Philanthropic Investment – The Plan includes practical investments from Philanthropic organizations

Assistance to Regions SECD embraces technical assistance and initiatives as a tool for Rural Communities: Cooperative Development – a creative alternative for rural communities to provide services that meet its citizens needs. Know Your Farmer/Know Your Food – provides technical assistance to communities that want to use local food systems to promote Community and Economic Development with a region.

Cooperative Development Co-ops are producer and user-owned businesses that are controlled by, and operate for the benefit of, their members. Farmer Co-ops – market and process crops Rural Utility Co-ops – electrical and telecommunication services Financial Co-ops – credit and financial services Other Co-ops – Food stores, daycare, health services The co-op business model is highly flexible and can address a wide variety of a rural community needs. For example, Farmer-owned co-ops help producer-members market and process their crops and livestock, and secure needed production supplies and services. Consumer-owned rural utility co-ops provide electrical power and telecommunications services. Financial co-ops provide credit and financial services. Other co-ops operate food stores, hardware, and building supply businesses, and provide education, daycare and health services, among many other things

Cooperative Development Rural Communities can consider Co-ops as a means to provide services to its citizen. For technical assistance with Cooperative Development: Margaret Bau Cooperative Development Specialist Margaret.Bau@wdc.usda Direct Line 715-345-7671

Local and Regional Food Systems Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2): Helps communities scale up local and regional food systems and strengthen their economies. Offers assistance in funding and technical assistance for developing regional food systems

USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative Website: One-stop shop for financial and technical assistance resources from USDA to grow your local food enterprise www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer The Compass: How USDA resources are put to work in your community www.usda.gov/kyfcompass The Compass Map: See what’s funded in your community and learn how others are using USDA programs How does USDA coordinate all of this work? Through the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative. KYF2 is USDA’s vehicle to strengthen our work on local and regional food systems. -Our KYF2 task force explores ways to make USDA programs work more effectively for all of the stakeholders involved in local/regional food systems, and trains USDA staff to work with these customers. -The KYF2 website is a one-stop shop for financial and technical resources related to local/regional foods. The website’s Grants and Loans page includes a list of nearly thirty funding programs that can be used to support local and regional food-related projects. When you click on one of the programs, you’ll see an easy-to-understand summary, information on eligibility, an example of a real-world project supported by this program, and ideas for other types of projects it might support. There are also links to the main website for the program. It’s a portal into all of the USDA resources available. -Another key communications tool on our website is the KYF Compass. It has two parts – a narrative that tells the story of how USDA resources are being used in the field, with case studies, research findings, photos and videos, and an interactive map, where we’ve taken data provided by USDA and other federal partners and mapped federal investments in local and regional food systems. www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer

Know Your Farmer/Know Your Food For technical assistance please contact: James Barham Agricultural Economic James.Barham@wdc.usda.gov 202-690-1411

Final Thoughts Rural Development has programs and committed staff that can address a variety of community and regional challenges SECD promotes and rewards a regional approach when using RD programs. RD Programs can be used to lift rural communities out of poverty when programs are used strategically. Co-ops and Local Foods Systems can be used to promote community and economic efforts for rural communities.

QUESTIONS

Who to Contact? http://srdc.msstate.edu/set/ Insert Your Team Contact Info Be sure to insert your coaching team contact information. http://srdc.msstate.edu/set/