Open Data Summer Camp Plans Gaining STEAM for 2017

Students learning about benefits of urban and community agriculture

Last summer students learned about a wide range of benefits of urban and community agriculture from USDA staff, researchers and educators at the University of the District of Columbia.

USDA and the Governance Lab at New York University (GovLab) are teaming up again to design and deliver a “summer camp” in 2017 for middle- and high-school students that focuses on using Open Data related to Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Math (STEAM).

The Open Data STEAM Summer Camp program, begun in 2016, is an immersive two-week project-based and team-focused learning experience for students in the Washington, D.C. area. The program aims to help these students build familiarity and hands-on competence with the approaches, tools and analytical techniques relevant to harnessing the power of open data on critical issues related to food and agriculture.

In preparation for 2017, an Open House will be held on from 4-6 pm on Friday March 14 on the patio of USDA’s Whitten Building at 1400 Independence Ave. SW. Interested parents, students, and both current and potential partners are encouraged to attend.

Agricultural work in the future will be increasingly driven by data, so there is strong support at USDA for encouraging students to master data skills. Experience-driven learning opportunities help them develop an interest in working with data as well as confidence in doing so. The guiding principle has been simple: if such interest, excitement and confidence can be kindled, the odds go up that these students will make course and career choices touching on data and agriculture.

“As more government data becomes available, we need citizens to be able to use it effectively,” says GovLab Director Beth Noveck.” The USDA Open Data summer program is a great opportunity to test and validate a curriculum and pedagogy that can get youth excited about working responsibly with data.”

Last year, student projects harnessed actual USDA-provided data sets as well as original research to focus on issues of urban agriculture, urban forestry and food safety.

Urban Forestry—Student teams used open data to map the trees planted in Washington, DC, and then to analyze the benefits of those trees in helping to prevent flood and storm damage, boosting energy savings through moderation of local temperatures and reducing pollution.

Urban Agriculture—Teams looked at the ways in which community gardens impact “food deserts” in local neighborhoods, as well as how they substantially reduce the distance food has to travel from farm to table, that, in turn, helps to reduce both pollution and the loss of food nutrient value.

Food Safety—Teams focused on identifying what can easily be done in the home to present food-borne illness as well as on the policy approaches that are most effective in assuring the safe operation of restaurants and food trucks.

In support of these efforts, on-site faculty provided ready guidance on the kinds of questions that can be addressed with data, on the challenges of gathering data through interviews and surveys, and on the techniques for presenting compelling arguments based on data. All students got to work extensively with Excel, Tableau, Illustrator and ESRI’s Collector application for creating GIS maps.

Last summer, students and parents were clearly excited by the experience provided at the summer camp. Yes, the program was hard work; but the confidence that comes with the mastery of data and narratives based on data made it all worthwhile.

Read more about the camp last summer and other educational opportunities for youth on the USDA Blog.

Middle- and high-school students who participated in the 2016 Open Data STEAM Summer Camp

Some of the middle- and high-school students who participated in the 2016 Open Data STEAM Summer Camp.

Forest Digest — Week of January 9, 2017

January 13th, 2017|Tags: |0 Comments

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Find out the latest in forest news in this week’s Forest Digest!

Amazon

Uncontacted indigenous tribe in the brazilian state of Acre.. Credit: Gleilson Miranda / Governo do Acre via Wikipedia.

The post Forest Digest — Week of January 9, 2017 appeared first on American Forests.

Regional Partnerships Help De-Clutter Arizona Grasslands

Pronghorn in Arizona

Pronghorn are able to return to brush controlled grasslands in Northern Arizona that were previously dominated by invasive-woody brush. Photo: Steve Cassady.

A popular new year’s resolution is to de-clutter our homes. But what if a clutter-free home was the only way you could survive and thrive?

Across Arizona, there is wildlife living in grasslands impacted by poorly-planned fencing and woody invasive brush. Invasive plant species, such as pinion juniper and mesquite that grow and spread quickly, create obstacles in grassland habitats that make it difficult for pronghorn and other migratory, grassland-dependent species to avoid predators.

Further, these invasives crowd out native grasses that provide food for wildlife and livestock, reduce soil erosion and help soil absorb precipitation, which is vital to replenishing supplies of groundwater and improving water quality.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Department of Agriculture, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners are working together to restore grassland habitat across Arizona through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

In the first year alone, through RCPP, the partnership modified more than 28 miles of fence on the eastern and southern Arizona grasslands. By replacing existing fence with wildlife-friendly fencing, migrating wildlife are now able to travel easily among grasslands. Nearly 14,500 acres of wildlife habitat have been restored to native grasslands. Forty watering facilities were added across the project area, making water available to 320,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

These coordinated partnership efforts make funds for the projects go further and also make sure that the agencies do not duplicate each other’s efforts. “Because our field offices talk regularly with local partners during the planning process, we can avoid unintentionally duplicating each other’s work,” said Emily Fife, NRCS’ assistant state conservationist for programs in Arizona. “RCPP provides us the framework we need to work together.”

These conservation efforts are good for the overall environmental health of the ecosystems, and the economic health of nearby communities through recreation available in wildlife habitat.

“The RCPP allows us to focus our efforts on a larger landscape with several landowners, rather than a single landowner,” said NRCS state biologist Stu Tuttle. “This broad impact helps keep Arizona wildlife off the Endangered Species List through the recovery of their habitat.”

Since 2014, NRCS has invested a total of $825 million in 286 RCPP projects nationwide, bringing together more than 2,000 conservation partners who have committed an estimated $1.4 billion in financial and technical assistance.

Secretary Vilsack today announced USDA is accepting pre-proposals for Fiscal Year 2018 RCPP funding. NRCS will award up to $252 million dollars to locally driven, private-public partnerships that improve the nation’s water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat, and protect agricultural viability.

Pre-proposals are due April 21. For more information on how to apply, visit the RCPP website.

People walking beside fence

The bottom barb wire on a fence is replaced with smooth wire at least 20 inches from the ground fence to remove a barrier for pronghorn movement between healthy grassland habitats. Photo: Rana Tucker.

Innovation is Driving Down Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Corn-based Ethanol

A flexible fuel pump with ethanol

This flexible fuel pump offers 30% and 85% ethanol fuel.

Ethanol, primarily derived from corn, supplies about 10 percent of US motor fuel needs.  A new study from ICF which was released today, titled “A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Based Ethanol,” finds that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with corn-based ethanol in the United States are about 43 percent lower than gasoline when measured on an energy equivalent basis.  This is comparable to reducing GHG emissions in the U.S. transportation sector by as much as 35.5 million metric tons per year.

Ethanol production has changed significantly over the past ten years. U.S. production has ramped up from 3.9 to 14.8 billion gallons per year between 2005 and 2015. As demand for corn ethanol has increased, corn production in the US expanded from 11.8 billion bushels in 2004 to 13.6 billion bushels in 2015 (NASS).

Unlike earlier studies of ethanol’s GHG benefits, which had to rely on projections of future ethanol production systems and expected impacts on the farm sector, this study was able to review how the industry and farm sectors have performed over the past decade to assess the current GHG profile of corn-based ethanol.

Earlier studies of ethanol’s GHG balance projected the effects of allocating billions of bushels of corn to ethanol production on supplies of corn and other commodities going to domestic and world food and feed markets.  Those studies expected that farmers in the U.S. and other regions would respond to higher corn prices by bringing new lands into corn production. Bringing new land into commodity production typically results in increased GHG emissions—and those emissions can be large if the former land use was native grassland, wetland, or forest. However, what actually occurred in the US and around the world is more complex.

The Three Rivers Energy biorefinery in Ohio

The Three Rivers Energy biorefinery in Ohio produces corn-based ethanol.

Increased use of corn to produce ethanol in the US did have a positive price effect on corn.  As a result, within the US and abroad, idled croplands were brought into production; cropland already in production was managed more intensively; and by-products of corn ethanol production were used more efficiently as animal feed. Around the world, producers increased their use of double cropping.

The ICF report draws on those new data, including the analysis in Bruce Babcock and Zabid Iqbal’s publication “Using Recent Land Use Changes to Validate Land Use Change Models”.  Babcock and Iqbal’s study confirmed that the primary land-use change response by the world’s farmers to increased demand for corn during the period 2004-2012 was to increase double cropping, reduce un-harvested planted area, reduce fallow land, and reduce temporary pasture in order to expand production. Moreover, the use of distillers dried grains and solubles (or DDGS) became a preferred substitute for corn grain, thereby muting the increased demand.

Those types of production gains are emblematic of innovation in modern agriculture. In 1961, it took 3.38 billion acres of cropland to feed the world’s population of 3.5 billion people. Over the next fifty years, the world’s population doubled to seven billion people, while cultivated land increased by only 12 percent to 3.78 billion acres. Productivity gains driven by improvements in technology have allowed farmers to get more output from existing resources, and thereby to keep pace with the growing demands an increasing global population puts on agriculture for food, fiber, and energy products.

In addition to the gains from reduced levels of land conversion, the ICF report shows that the reductions in GHG emissions from corn ethanol are continually driven by a variety of improvements in efficiency, from the corn field to the ethanol refinery. On-farm conservation practices, such as reduced tillage and nitrogen management, improved the GHG balance of growing corn for ethanol. Production yields, measured in gallons of ethanol per bushel of corn, have increased by 3.4 percent between 2006 and 2014.

Ethanol plants have also improved process efficiencies and can now produce biofuels that generate double the lifecycle GHG reductions estimated earlier, and there are opportunities to improve performance even more. New enzymes and yeast strains have increased process efficiencies in starch conversion and fermentation. Those process upgrades have become drivers for a decreasing GHG-intensity of corn ethanol production. Improved technologies such as combined heat and power, and using landfill gas for energy offer continued areas for improved efficiencies.  New co-products, such as corn-oil biodiesel and DDGS have helped reduce GHG lifecycle emissions.

The report concludes that the GHG profile of corn ethanol is on track to be almost 50 percent lower than gasoline in 2022 if current trends in corn yields, process fuel switching, and improvements in trucking fuel efficiency continue.

One of the ICF report’s important findings is that there is a large potential for additional gains in ethanol’s GHG efficiency. The study examined the potential GHG benefits of additional on-farm conservation practices and efficiency improvements, such as the practices outlined in USDA’s Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry strategy. When these practices and plant efficiency improvements are universally adopted, the GHG benefits of corn ethanol are even more pronounced over gasoline—potentially rising to 76 percent gain in GHG benefits.

Continuing these trends is good news for the transportation sector—and the agriculture sector—when it comes to reducing GHG emissions.

A nearly 100 percent biodegradable kitty litter made from dried distiller’s grains, left over from corn-ethanol production

USDA scientists have developed a nearly 100 percent biodegradable kitty litter made from dried distiller’s grains, left over from corn-ethanol production.

Bringing it Home at the End of the Year

U.S. Farms Selling Food Directly by Region, 2015 map

Results of the 2015 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey released on Dec. 20, 2016 reveal that 167,009 U.S. farms sold food directly to consumers, retailers, institutions and intermediaries. (Click to enlarge)

According to recent data on local food marketing practices, 167,000 U.S. farms locally produced and sold food through direct marketing practices, resulting in $8.7 billion in revenue. Pennsylvania led the U.S. in the number of farms selling directly to consumers, with more than 6,000 operations. California led in sales, earning $467 million. The survey also concluded that more than 80 percent of all direct market food sales occurred within 100 miles of the farm.

Local foods, pollination, organic products, fats and oils—these are just a few of the topics on which NASS recently began collecting and reporting data to meet data interests and requests, adding to our long-standing information on major commodities. We are innovating and building on more than 150 years of service to rural America with agriculture statistics. The value of accurate data is now more important than ever for decision-making on the farm, and by USDA farm program administrators, policy makers, researchers, market participants and, really, every aspect of agriculture.

The past year has been exciting and marked by remarkable progress in our work to serve rural America as the scope and high quality of our statistics reflect. As I look forward to the coming year, I see great opportunity to strengthen our relationships with survey respondents and with those who use our data, and to take more advantage of the remarkable technological advancements available to us. And of course, we are gearing up for the 2017 Census of Agriculture.

One of our newest advancements is the development of an improved Internet-based way to respond to surveys. NASS is developing a new, more modern online “form” to make responding more convenient and efficient. We are now conducting the first public data collection test among approximately 15,000 farmers and ranchers who we are asking to complete a draft 2017 Census of Agriculture form to test the data collection user experience. NASS intends to use the new interface for the 2017 Census of Agriculture which begins at the end of 2017.

In this season of retrospection and forward thinking, I thank all NASS employees and enumerators for their many contributions, producing some 400 reports and related materials on-time with accurate and useful data in service to U.S. agriculture. I thank our agricultural partners and all of the farmers, ranchers and growers who take time to respond to statistical surveys. You are the source of our food, feed and fiber as well as the data that we rely on here and around the world.

Top Ten States in Direct Farm Sales of Food, 2015 chart

California leads U.S. states in direct farm sales of food in 2015 at $2.869 million. (Click to enlarge)

Why We No Longer Recommend a 40 Percent Urban Tree Canopy Goal

January 12th, 2017|Tags: |0 Comments

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By Ian Leahy, American Forests, Director of Urban Forest Programs

Tree Canopy

Credit: Drew Geraets via Flickr.

One of the most frequent questions I receive, as American Forests’ Director of Urban Forest Programs, comes from individuals developing tree canopy goals for their jurisdiction or region. They have come across numerous references to American Forests’ recommended 40 percent tree canopy goal but cannot find a source citation to include in planning documents.

The reason for that is simple: research no longer supports a universal 40 percent tree canopy recommendation, and neither does American Forests.

That benchmark was established in a 1997 American Forests article “after analyzing the tree canopy in dozens of cities over the [prior] five years and working closely with the research community.” While incredibly valuable and groundbreaking at the time, technology and research have significantly evolved over the past 20 years, leading to a consensus that more nuanced approaches are necessary.

“Tree canopy cover targets are difficult to specify broadly because the opportunities to create canopy are highly variable among cities, even within a climatic region or land use class,” says U.S. Forest Service Research Forester Greg McPherson, with the Pacific Southwest Research Station.

McPherson, who also serves on American Forests’ Science Advisory Board, goes on to say that “Targets are best developed for specific cities and should consider constraints to creating canopy such as:

  • Development densities (i.e., dense development patterns with more impervious surfaces have less opportunity for cover);
  • Land use patterns (i.e., residential areas may have more opportunity for canopy than commercial areas, but canopy cover tends to be less in residential areas of disadvantaged communities versus wealthy ones);
  • Ordinances (i.e., parking lot shade ordinances promote cover over some impervious areas); and
  • Climate (i.e., canopy cover in desert cities is often less than tropical cities).”

Within those parameters, quantifiable data can be used so a tree canopy goal achieves specific objectives, such as reaching the canopy percentage necessary to reduce urban heat island temperatures to a specific range, or to reduce stormwater runoff by a projected amount. According to a national analysis by U.S. Forest Service researchers David Nowak (also on our Science Advisory Board) and Eric Greenfield, a 40-60 percent urban tree canopy is attainable under ideal conditions in forested states. Twenty percent in grassland cities and 15 percent in desert cities are realistic baseline targets, with higher percentages possible through greater investment and prioritization.

It’s important to note, however, that urban tree canopy percentage is just one of many criteria to consider. A robust tree canopy comprised of largely invasive species, for example, is not a healthy urban forest. Age and species diversity, condition of trees and equitable distribution across income levels, to name a few, should also be considered.

To help with this, American Forests will launch in late spring a new Vibrant Cities Lab website. It will synthesize the latest research, provide case studies and adapt a new guide from the U.S. Forest Service and the Davey Institute, “The Sustainable Urban Forest: A Step-by-Step Approach,” into an online toolkit. These assets can help managers assess the state of their urban forest, set realistic targets and chart a path toward long-term sustainability.

The post Why We No Longer Recommend a 40 Percent Urban Tree Canopy Goal appeared first on American Forests.

Taste Test: Behind the Scenes with USDA Foods

Chris Facha samples the new pepper/onion blend

Chris Facha, USDA Food Distribution Program Coordinator at the Oregon Department of Education and American Commodity Distribution Association (ACDA) President Elect, samples the new pepper/onion blend served during the USDA/State Agency Meeting’s “USDA Foods: Behind the Scenes” session.

The USDA Foods Available List is a lot like any other menu, with dozens of healthy options for state agencies to order and distribute through USDA’s nutrition assistance programs.  And every year, foods are added or removed from the list based on customer demand and market conditions. Some offerings are modified to improve nutrition content or make the product and its packaging easier to work with in the kitchen or more acceptable to kids.

The USDA Foods program is a collaboration between the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the agency that procures the food, and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the agency that distributes the food. This school year, the USDA Foods team’s goal for training and conferences is to provide more opportunities to taste new and reformulated products. That way, state agencies can confidently order them and school districts can incorporate them into their menus.

The USDA Test Kitchen, in the iconic South Building in Washington, D.C., is the hub for USDA Foods product evaluation by AMS and FNS staff. Current and prospective vendors provide samples to evaluate based on taste, texture, appearance and other factors. We then decide which products are good candidates for the Foods Available List and which may need a little more tweaking to meet recipients’ needs.

At this fall’s annual meeting for USDA and state agency staff working on school meal programs, attendees had the opportunity to go “behind the scenes with USDA Foods.” This pre-conference session included background information on the contracting process, development of the Foods Available List, timelines for introducing new or improved products and how to best provide feedback. Next, the group enjoyed a hands-on tasting experience in the USDA Test Kitchen! Here, attendees sampled and evaluated seven new or recently reformulated USDA Foods products, including whole grain-rich Alaska Pollock fish sticks, high protein yogurt and pulled pork. We were grateful for the positive comments and suggestions from this interactive session.

In December, USDA took the show on the road to the School Food Focus National Gathering in Braselton, Ga. Participants tasted the recently reformulated dried fruit mix, which contains equal portions of diced dried apples, dried cherries, dried cranberries and raisins. The mix can be served plain and is also a great topping for oatmeal or yogurt. The next generation – and our actual customers – also got involved in the action as Gwinnett County Public Schools culinary students conducted a cooking demonstration using the USDA Foods unseasoned chicken strip! They prepared a delicious chicken pesto panini with fresh spinach and mozzarella cheese.

The taste testing trend continues: the School Nutrition Association (SNASchool Nutrition Industry Conference in Orlando, Fla., will feature a USDA Foods Taste Test as a bonus session on Saturday, January 21. Participants will learn about the behind-the-scenes process for USDA Foods product development and taste recipes developed by Chef Paula Kendrick, who will be incorporating USDA Foods into fun, innovative dishes such as cinnamon nachos with pear topping, pasta with broccoli and mushrooms, and spiced and roasted chickpeas! The Orange County Public Schools food truck will also be making a special appearance.

USDA will continue to seek opportunities to share the tasting experience with program stakeholders around the country. We always appreciate feedback on current USDA Foods products and your ideas for new ones! Contact us at USDAFoods@fns.usda.gov.

Gwinnett County Public Schools culinary students preparing chicken pesto panini

Gwinnett County Public Schools culinary students prepare chicken pesto panini with fresh spinach and mozzarella cheese.

Why I’m Here: Capturing the Art of Conservation on Camera

January 11th, 2017|Tags: |0 Comments

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By Kate Kirlin, American Forests

Kate KirlinGrowing up in the heart of Washington, D.C., I was exposed to urban forestry and conservation at a young age. However, my love for the environment truly took shape when I was at a summer camp near West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest. Hiking for days on end through dense brush, towering trees and large fields made me appreciate nature in a new way. I felt at home in the outdoors.

I have been taking pictures nonstop for as long as I can remember. When I was gifted my first DSLR camera, I never put it down. My love of photography evolved in to a love for film. I grew up watching Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and any nature documentary I could find. It occurred to me that this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew I wanted to share my conservation message through photography and film.

College brought about new opportunities for me that I could have never imagined. My very first year, I was able to travel to a remote rainforest reserve in Nicaragua, along the border of Costa Rica. For a week I immersed myself in the culture and unfamiliar environment of the rainforest, always towing a camera. I worked closely with local elementary and high school students to educate them on the importance of conservation.

While at American University, I was exposed to a critical need for action against pollution, deforestation and climate change. Being surrounded by professional environmental policy makers, award-winning wildlife documentarians and fellow students in my field has deepened my understanding of the importance of our environment.

Over the years my passion to protect the environment has only grown. Knowing that I have always wanted to share my message of conservation, American Forests seemed like the perfect fit for me. I am so delighted to spend my spring semester as a multimedia intern at American Forests. I know that this community will give me the experience I need to make an impact on a national scale.

The post Why I’m Here: Capturing the Art of Conservation on Camera appeared first on American Forests.

USDA Offers Grants to Help Expand Marketing and Local Food Opportunities

Ajo Farmers Market poster

FMPP grant helped Ajo Farmers Market expand its vendors to offer a variety of foods and activities from fresh local veggies, stews and soups to Kids Month with mural painting activities for kids!

If there is one word that best embodies agriculture, it is entrepreneurship. Over the course of my time at USDA, I’ve had the chance to meet with farmers, ranchers and food business of all sizes and in all parts of the country. The faces of these entrepreneurs and their innovative strategies and business models reflect the diversity that makes this country strong.  Each year, USDA helps thousands of agricultural producers and businesses enhance their marketing efforts and bring healthy, nutritious food to communities– and I’m excited that this week, we’ve announced another opportunity to support their work.

My agency, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), announced the availability of more than $27 million in grants to help ensure the livelihoods of our nation’s farmers and ranchers while strengthening rural economies. The announcement included $26 million in AMS grant funding from the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program through the Local Food Marketing Promotion Program (LFPP) and the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP).

There is also nearly $1 million available from the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) through matching grants with state departments of agriculture, colleges or universities.  These funds will support research projects to address challenges and opportunities in marketing, transporting, and distributing U.S. agricultural products domestically and internationally.

We see the benefits from these USDA efforts with impacts in places like Ajo, Arizona. This rural town has a population of about 3,300 people and is a long distance from traditional food retail shopping centers.  In 2014, the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture received an FMPP grant to transform the Ajo Farmers Market into a business incubator for the community.  With their community partners they hosted weekly workshops for farm vendors.  The workshops covered food production, food safety practices, processing, packaging, marketing, advertising, and the effective use of social media.

The overall project tripled the number of Ajo Farmers Market vendors from 13 to 39, substantially increasing the capacity and skills of local and regional growers.  Vendors included wild food harvesters as well as traditional products such as eggs, flower, and honey.  During the winter, customers more than doubled from 150 to between 300 and 400 per market day.  More outreach to Native American growers in the nearby Tohono O’odham Reservation helped market expansion by offering indigenous crops from the region.

Over the past 10 years, the FMPP has awarded more than 870 grants totaling over $58 million.  These efforts have been highlighted in the report, Farmers Market Promotion Program 2016 Report (PDF), demonstrating how USDA is helping create economic opportunities for producers by supporting local and regional projects like these that increase access to fresh, healthy food for rural and urban communities.  All of these grants work together to help communities maintain their agricultural heritage and strengthen the local economy.

For more information about USDA’s investments in local and regional food systems and rural America, check out the USDA Medium Chapter: New Markets, New Opportunities: Strengthening Local Food Systems and Organic Agriculture.

Food in baskets

From Okra to carrots, each year, USDA grant programs help thousands of entrepreneurs enhance their marketing efforts and bring healthy, nutritious food to communities across the country.

USDA Works to Deliver Broadband to Rural Communities

USDA Rural Development’s Application Assistance Team

USDA Rural Development’s Application Assistance Team stands ready to help communities and organizations successfully navigate the application process for our Farm Bill Broadband Access and Community Connect programs. The team is comprised of (L-R) Kenrick Gordon, Tony Tindall, Bill Vogt, Shekinah Bailey, Andre Boening, and Andy Hayes.

Thanks to USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service funding and Home Communications, Inc., those who live and work in a rural Kansas community don’t have to travel miles for broadband service. High school and college students can upload, research, and complete homework assignments online. Employees can work remotely, farmers can monitor operations, and businesses can successfully market and promote their products and services.

Home Communications, Inc. (HCI), based in Gypsum, Kan., is one example of how rural telecommunication service providers are investing in the future of their communities. Since they opened doors as a rural telephone company in 1933, HCI has transitioned to a broadband service provider focused on growth by expanding their customer base and service territory.

With the help of funding from Rural Development to upgrade the service and equipment, those who live and work in Gypsum can enjoy such benefits as access to broadband with a consistent, constant speed and unlimited data on HCI’s fiber network. HCI is just one of the many successful telecommunications providers that has helped rural communities connect to the world by providing broadband access to rural consumers.

Rural Development works to improve broadband access in rural areas nationwide by providing funding and technical assistance to projects to deliver broadband to rural areas.  Two programs that fund broadband service for rural communities – the Farm Bill Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, and Community Connect Grant Program – are now accepting applications for funding. Both can fund broadband in unserved and underserved rural areas.

The deadline for submitting Community Connect applications is March 13, 2017.

For the Farm Bill Broadband Program, this year applicants can receive extra guidance to help strengthen funding requests during a special pre-application window that runs from January 10, 2017 to March 24, 2017. A second window will run from July 1, 2017 through September 22, 2017. During the pre-application periods, applicants can receive expert assistance from the members of our highly specialized Application Assistance Team. Composed of six highly trained program specialists, they are the “go-to” Broadband Program experts and stand ready to help applicants put together strong, high quality proposals. During the application process, participants will learn how they can contact the assistance team.

Dig a little deeper into our Farm Bill Broadband Access Program and our Community Connect Program to see if your rural community might benefit from the funding we can provide – and keep moving the ball forward on high-speed Internet communications for our rural communities.