USDA Rural Development Programs

Jenny Nixon Author

08/22/2025 Added

1 Plays

Description

Marla Marx discusses current USDA Rural Development programs. Recorded October 21, 2020.

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[00:00:00.000]sends her regrets because she
[00:00:01.750]was supposed to be doing this
[00:00:03.440]presentation today and has
[00:00:05.040]another
[00:00:05.560]meeting. I'm just going to
[00:00:07.650]share my slides. Please
[00:00:09.310]interrupt if you have questions
[00:00:11.520]as we're going
[00:00:12.640]through. I'm just going to kind
[00:00:14.730]of give you a high level of the
[00:00:16.280]different programs just to make
[00:00:18.170]sure
[00:00:18.520]that everybody's aware. There
[00:00:20.910]are 48, 44 to 48 different
[00:00:23.810]programs, but I'm not going to
[00:00:26.030]go through
[00:00:26.920]every one of those. I think I
[00:00:28.840]have about 19 slides. So I will
[00:00:31.300]share that now and then Jenny
[00:00:33.980]will have
[00:00:34.380]to shut it off because I can't
[00:00:37.040]seem to figure out how to get
[00:00:39.590]rid of it. Okay, so hopefully
[00:00:42.720]you're going to start seeing it
[00:00:46.100]now.
[00:00:51.000]Are you seeing it yet?
[00:00:52.500]There we go.
[00:00:53.700]Now you can shift to full
[00:00:55.790]screen if you like.
[00:00:57.580]Okay.
[00:00:58.300]So now I'm going to start my
[00:00:59.710]slideshow.
[00:01:00.540]Now, if it's going to let me do
[00:01:04.900]that from the beginning.
[00:01:08.600]Okay.
[00:01:09.040]So.
[00:01:18.780]Are you seeing it full screen
[00:01:21.010]now?
[00:01:21.600]Not yet.
[00:01:25.800]Not yet.
[00:01:27.000]Okay.
[00:01:29.440]So let me, oh, now I see why
[00:01:32.660]you're sharing your screen.
[00:01:36.320]That's what I was trying to get
[00:01:38.210]to define before.
[00:01:39.500]Yeah.
[00:01:40.080]But what it did was it now
[00:01:42.000]moved it to my other screen.
[00:01:44.440]Well, that's.
[00:01:48.240]If you can advance from there,
[00:01:49.820]Marla, we can watch this.
[00:01:51.360]Okay.
[00:01:52.040]This is fine.
[00:01:52.880]Okay.
[00:01:53.720]I'm sorry.
[00:01:54.480]Again, rural development is
[00:01:58.230]here to help make sure that we
[00:02:02.020]keep communities viable.
[00:02:05.500]And, you know, our emphasis is,
[00:02:07.890]you know, we live in those
[00:02:09.860]communities,
[00:02:10.760]so we want to make sure that we're
[00:02:13.150]there to help ensure the
[00:02:15.120]quality of life in all of our
[00:02:16.540]rural communities.
[00:02:17.760]rural communities is different
[00:02:20.150]numbers for different programs
[00:02:22.290]and that's one of the
[00:02:23.760]changes that I will be talking
[00:02:25.650]about today. If you look at
[00:02:27.400]rural development we have four
[00:02:29.340]major
[00:02:29.760]program areas business programs
[00:02:32.000]which I get to spend my time in
[00:02:34.120]community facilities housing
[00:02:36.040]and rural utility services.
[00:02:38.430]Through the business programs
[00:02:40.780]we have our guaranteed loans.
[00:02:43.340]One of the things that has
[00:02:45.730]changed since October 1, we
[00:02:48.640]have a new format for the
[00:02:51.280]applications for the B&I loans.
[00:02:54.320]But that loan is also the same
[00:02:56.410]one they use for WEP, and it's
[00:02:58.680]also the same one that they use
[00:03:00.620]for community facilities.
[00:03:02.740]So we've standardized the loan
[00:03:04.840]application for lenders, so
[00:03:07.100]there is not different forms
[00:03:08.790]that they have to fill out for
[00:03:10.720]our programs.
[00:03:12.000]It's one form.
[00:03:13.340]business and loan into our we
[00:03:15.570]still have the three percent
[00:03:17.820]guarantee fee and we're still
[00:03:20.280]doing real
[00:03:20.660]estate equipment and working
[00:03:22.790]capital I'll talk a little bit
[00:03:25.020]more about some of the things
[00:03:26.930]that
[00:03:27.400]have happened during the
[00:03:29.120]pandemic it's a later slide
[00:03:30.990]just to show you some of the
[00:03:32.790]things that
[00:03:33.680]where we've utilized some of
[00:03:36.080]our funding for the B&I program
[00:03:38.680]this is Lily Cape Boutique
[00:03:40.880]which is
[00:03:41.660]in Broken Bow. They purchased
[00:03:43.750]the building and we also were
[00:03:45.480]able to do a transfer of
[00:03:46.910]ownership
[00:03:47.700]with Heartland Lumber in Oshkosh,
[00:03:50.100]Nebraska. So we worked with
[00:03:52.100]those small communities.
[00:03:54.120]Loans for B&I program are in
[00:03:57.100]any community population less
[00:04:01.010]than 50,000. We can work in
[00:04:05.100]some of those other areas that
[00:04:08.650]are larger if the program is
[00:04:12.040]directly related to the rural
[00:04:15.430]areas,
[00:04:16.520]especially when it has to do
[00:04:17.670]with ag production. Probably
[00:04:19.990]where people have seen the most
[00:04:24.460]is our
[00:04:25.160]Rural Energy for America
[00:04:26.680]program, not to be mistaken
[00:04:28.420]with Center for Rural Affairs
[00:04:30.210]REAP program.
[00:04:32.680]the rural or energy for america
[00:04:35.070]program will help in do energy
[00:04:37.280]efficiency improvements and
[00:04:39.640]it is an opportunity for small
[00:04:42.820]businesses and egg producers to
[00:04:46.580]get a grant for 25 or they can
[00:04:49.910]do a
[00:04:50.200]combo for 25 grant 50 loan or
[00:04:54.550]loan only um typically we work
[00:04:57.350]with the applicant to make
[00:05:00.280]sure that they score pretty
[00:05:01.540]well because there are some
[00:05:02.790]components that don't score as
[00:05:04.210]well.
[00:05:04.680]For example, I had a restaurant
[00:05:07.240]in East Overland in Scotts Bluff
[00:05:09.800]that the city ended up helping
[00:05:12.280]with their windows and doors
[00:05:15.400]and we did the HVAC, some
[00:05:18.130]exhaust fans, so that it made
[00:05:21.380]the most sense
[00:05:23.000]and they got the most dollars
[00:05:24.790]that way because their grant
[00:05:26.580]scored better that way. It does
[00:05:28.760]require an audit so we work
[00:05:30.180]with the electrical utilities
[00:05:31.870]in the state of Nebraska to get
[00:05:33.480]those
[00:05:33.880]audits to help them score. On
[00:05:35.810]these projects you have to
[00:05:37.450]spend a minimum of six thousand
[00:05:39.380]dollars.
[00:05:40.200]On the energy efficiencies or
[00:05:43.480]energy renewable energy side we've
[00:05:47.430]done solar projects and wind
[00:05:50.680]projects. One thing that we can
[00:05:54.440]do that we partner with NRCS is
[00:05:57.810]we can do retrofits.
[00:06:00.440]If you're converting a windmill
[00:06:03.600]to solar panels, we can offer
[00:06:06.520]the grant for the ag producer
[00:06:09.390]on that.
[00:06:09.940]Most of those projects I'm
[00:06:12.030]seeing come in about $5,500,
[00:06:15.130]which means on the energy
[00:06:17.090]efficient,
[00:06:18.260]kind of like he's saying it
[00:06:19.520]wrong, renewable energy side,
[00:06:21.130]you have to spend a minimum of
[00:06:22.550]$10,000.
[00:06:23.880]So you have to have bids for
[00:06:25.970]two projects. A few years ago,
[00:06:28.380]they changed the scoring on
[00:06:30.820]those so
[00:06:31.140]that we can actually get those
[00:06:33.040]funded because before it had to
[00:06:34.990]be replacement cost and you're
[00:06:37.040]not replacing anything. Now we
[00:06:39.220]can do it on generation. Other
[00:06:41.400]things that we see for the
[00:06:43.080]renewable energy side is geothermal
[00:06:45.730]systems where you're using heat
[00:06:48.030]from the ground.
[00:06:49.480]And we see those on some new
[00:06:51.770]construction for businesses.
[00:06:54.700]One thing I didn't mention on
[00:06:57.420]the
[00:06:57.620]energy efficiency side, we also
[00:07:00.710]see a lot of grain dryers in
[00:07:02.970]the eastern end of the state
[00:07:05.560]and a lot of diesel to electric
[00:07:07.950]motors on irrigation projects.
[00:07:13.080]Going to value-added producer
[00:07:15.860]grant is a grant that helps
[00:07:18.220]those individuals who are
[00:07:21.020]trying to add value to a
[00:07:22.730]product that once it's been
[00:07:25.090]processed or in the processing
[00:07:27.880]part of it, or they can
[00:07:29.950]actually help them market.
[00:07:32.880]There is a planning grant and
[00:07:34.800]business feasibility study.
[00:07:36.980]anytime you apply for a working
[00:07:38.800]capital grant over $50,000, you
[00:07:41.530]have to have a business plan.
[00:07:43.400]And so if they're at a stage
[00:07:45.290]where they're not ready to
[00:07:47.130]already market their product,
[00:07:49.540]they can do that business plan
[00:07:51.620]and feasibility study.
[00:07:53.480]The grant is a one-to-one match,
[00:07:56.570]and it's been a great
[00:07:58.430]opportunity for some of our
[00:08:01.420]producers.
[00:08:03.080]And so here are some of the
[00:08:04.760]different things as I think
[00:08:06.630]about, you know, of course,
[00:08:08.730]this may be a little bit more
[00:08:10.510]panhandle because of my left
[00:08:12.510]hand side are the four B's I
[00:08:14.270]think of the valley, beef, beets,
[00:08:16.830]beans, and bees.
[00:08:18.460]So, you know, and working with,
[00:08:20.970]we've done some different bee
[00:08:23.150]ones, we've done cattle.
[00:08:25.340]We've also helped with the winery
[00:08:27.580]at North Platte.
[00:08:28.920]That's the picture you see
[00:08:30.470]there.
[00:08:31.960]We had a lady down in Ogallala
[00:08:35.110]that was selling eggs.
[00:08:37.960]She started with 35 hens and
[00:08:40.570]grew to 450 hens and was
[00:08:42.860]supplying eggs to all the
[00:08:44.900]farmers markets.
[00:08:45.760]So, and then also hogs, you
[00:08:48.210]know, if we look, we're looking
[00:08:51.070]at what we can do to help
[00:08:53.700]enhance and make those dollars.
[00:08:56.800]You know, there's a lot of
[00:08:58.580]people that are doing, you know,
[00:09:01.100]to certify the meat or they're
[00:09:02.960]doing different things with
[00:09:04.950]their meat products.
[00:09:06.760]We also do, this is probably
[00:09:09.380]the most fun part of my job is
[00:09:11.910]helping those rural communities
[00:09:14.950]look at what are some things
[00:09:17.470]that we can do to help those
[00:09:19.880]communities.
[00:09:21.500]I put this as loan fund
[00:09:23.080]programs, but I always mention
[00:09:25.450]that under the Rural Business
[00:09:27.570]Development Grant, we can do
[00:09:29.920]incubator buildings, we can do
[00:09:32.490]technical assistance.
[00:09:34.560]There's a lot of things that
[00:09:35.910]can fit underneath that. And
[00:09:37.490]then that's when I mentioned
[00:09:38.920]like the people who buy their
[00:09:40.260]grocery store.
[00:09:41.260]Hay Springs is in the process
[00:09:43.200]of purchasing a building and
[00:09:45.200]they're going to have a
[00:09:46.710]community run grocery store
[00:09:49.200]because they, I mean, and they
[00:09:50.910]had petitions and they had even
[00:09:53.020]little kids signing the
[00:09:54.610]petition. So, I mean, they
[00:09:57.090]really got their community
[00:09:58.400]involved to do that.
[00:10:01.120]We have the Rural Economic
[00:10:03.510]Development Grants, which are
[00:10:06.420]grants to the electrical
[00:10:09.060]utilities or the phone
[00:10:10.770]companies where they can do a
[00:10:13.360]grant. They receive a grant
[00:10:15.510]from us for $300,000. They have
[00:10:18.260]to find a 20% match. And then
[00:10:20.400]they are, as the entity pays
[00:10:22.930]that money back, then they can
[00:10:25.260]use that as revolving loan
[00:10:27.400]funds.
[00:10:29.200]We're excited because the zoo
[00:10:30.790]just got done with the bear
[00:10:32.170]exhibit. That was one of those
[00:10:34.280]projects. And so now the zoo
[00:10:36.350]will be closing that loan and
[00:10:38.330]then the city of Gearing will
[00:10:40.360]have those revolving loan funds
[00:10:42.550]to help with that project.
[00:10:44.700]We also got to help with the
[00:10:47.090]Legacy of the Plains Museum is
[00:10:49.620]another project that has worked
[00:10:52.640]through that program.
[00:10:55.740]RMAP IRP and then of course I
[00:10:57.830]listed that we have 33
[00:11:00.100]intermediaries that have
[00:11:01.540]dollars for all 93 of the
[00:11:03.680]counties and you might see some
[00:11:06.010]familiar names on this with Deb's
[00:11:08.330]program is one of them.
[00:11:10.380]Hey, Marla, is Deborah Durbel
[00:11:13.970]still like the program manager
[00:11:16.660]for IRP?
[00:11:17.840]Yes, she is.
[00:11:19.160]Because I've had an email into
[00:11:21.050]her for over a week, and all I
[00:11:22.810]get from her anymore is stuff
[00:11:24.560]about Native American.
[00:11:26.240]Okay.
[00:11:26.920]What happened is that there was
[00:11:29.640]an exposure at the state office,
[00:11:32.570]and she does not have internet
[00:11:35.290]at home to work remotely.
[00:11:37.680]So she had to work from, she
[00:11:39.800]had to stay home.
[00:11:41.360]Oh.
[00:11:41.980]And she was unable to work.
[00:11:43.400]So she says she, I talked to
[00:11:44.930]her at the end of yesterday,
[00:11:46.530]and she goes, I am never going
[00:11:48.230]to dig out.
[00:11:49.160]so I will tell her that she
[00:11:51.350]might want to check in with you
[00:11:53.990]it's no sweat I just it was
[00:11:56.150]just odd
[00:11:57.000]that I I continue to get uh
[00:11:59.230]information from this Ted
[00:12:01.590]whatever his name is yeah um
[00:12:04.050]and she is
[00:12:05.000]forwarding that but yet I'm not
[00:12:06.890]getting an email back from her
[00:12:08.690]yeah yeah and she's she's just
[00:12:10.520]still
[00:12:10.980]trying to get through our
[00:12:13.630]emails. Okay. Community
[00:12:16.760]programs. This is where we have
[00:12:20.360]loan dollars and
[00:12:21.400]grant dollars to help with
[00:12:23.110]community facilities and water
[00:12:25.230]and waste programs. And there's
[00:12:27.480]a list
[00:12:28.000]of all of those programs.
[00:12:30.090]Community facilities is now the
[00:12:32.560]same application as the B&I
[00:12:34.940]program,
[00:12:35.580]which means that community
[00:12:37.240]programs, we can now serve any
[00:12:39.090]community up to 50,000.
[00:12:41.540]And there are priority points
[00:12:43.430]for those communities that are
[00:12:45.270]under 20,000.
[00:12:47.160]Before, they could only work in
[00:12:48.660]communities less than 20,000.
[00:12:50.900]So that is a big win for
[00:12:52.280]community programs because now
[00:12:54.400]they can serve more of Nebraska.
[00:12:56.560]Because before, they were
[00:12:58.070]limited under those numbers.
[00:12:59.900]And WEP, I think, in some of
[00:13:01.160]those programs, it was 10,000.
[00:13:04.560]It'll be a great thing for them,
[00:13:08.910]but it may also be overwhelming.
[00:13:12.900]I know they've been ramping up
[00:13:15.290]with employees and stuff trying
[00:13:17.580]to get ready for this change.
[00:13:19.960]Here are a couple examples, Boxview
[00:13:22.890]General Hospital.
[00:13:24.660]If you look in, there have been
[00:13:26.360]a lot of hospitals that were
[00:13:27.870]built using community facility
[00:13:29.660]money.
[00:13:30.280]We can help with library
[00:13:31.590]improvements, computers for
[00:13:33.370]those libraries.
[00:13:34.440]And Ewing got a new siren.
[00:13:36.920]I always think about when Broadwater
[00:13:39.020]got their new siren, it's like,
[00:13:40.840]well, if you wanted
[00:13:43.180]the siren to go, somebody had
[00:13:44.570]to go push the button.
[00:13:45.760]And who drew a short straw that
[00:13:47.190]had to go push the button?
[00:13:48.580]Another example would be lagoon
[00:13:51.180]systems for our water
[00:13:52.940]environmental program.
[00:13:55.980]And that was what the lagoon
[00:13:57.810]looked like before in Lodgepool
[00:13:59.990]and what it looks like now in Lodgepool.
[00:14:02.980]Let's skip over to single
[00:14:05.370]family programs.
[00:14:07.340]This is the main stock.
[00:14:09.260]This is how rural development
[00:14:11.650]began.
[00:14:12.440]We were part of the Farmers
[00:14:13.570]Home Administration.
[00:14:14.720]And this is still the signature
[00:14:18.530]program for our start.
[00:14:22.120]We have direct and guaranteed
[00:14:24.240]home ownership, which means
[00:14:26.480]that we can loan money directly
[00:14:28.400]or we can guarantee the loans
[00:14:30.230]for the bank.
[00:14:31.160]And as far as I know, this is
[00:14:33.100]probably the only program that
[00:14:35.510]you can do 100% financing for
[00:14:38.100]people who are doing home
[00:14:39.640]ownership.
[00:14:40.780]We also have rural home repair
[00:14:43.420]loans and grants.
[00:14:45.280]Those are set up for lower
[00:14:47.710]income families.
[00:14:50.320]The loans are for 20,000, 1%
[00:14:53.180]interest for 20 years.
[00:14:55.240]Grants are for individuals over
[00:14:57.790]62 and income eligible, and
[00:15:00.450]that grant is for $7,500.
[00:15:03.560]But those are the things, if
[00:15:05.650]you have someone who needs some
[00:15:07.920]help and assistance, please get
[00:15:10.100]in contact with our offices to
[00:15:12.130]see if we can help them.
[00:15:13.920]Here's a couple examples of
[00:15:16.070]some people when they got their
[00:15:18.520]new homes.
[00:15:20.320]The upper left, I always like
[00:15:22.070]to show this and mention the
[00:15:23.680]picture on that one. That is a
[00:15:25.740]house that was built by the
[00:15:27.860]Scottsbluff High School kids
[00:15:30.200]and the individual who ended up
[00:15:32.670]buying that home was one of our
[00:15:35.030]programs. She used the single
[00:15:37.580]family housing program to
[00:15:39.680]purchase her home.
[00:15:44.160]Multifamily housing does both
[00:15:46.550]direct and guaranteed rural
[00:15:48.560]rental housing loans. They also
[00:15:51.110]do preservation and revitalization.
[00:15:54.430]Work a lot with that program
[00:15:57.430]with the
[00:15:58.440]Like the Community Action Groups
[00:16:00.860]used to do a lot of those loans
[00:16:02.920]and grants to help them help
[00:16:05.350]their money go further as well.
[00:16:07.360]And then we also have the farm
[00:16:09.430]labor housing.
[00:16:11.940]So Marla, on these programs,
[00:16:13.660]particularly the multifamily
[00:16:15.400]ones, they are all income
[00:16:16.920]restricted as well, correct?
[00:16:18.800]Correct.
[00:16:19.540]Correct.
[00:16:20.620]So here's an example.
[00:16:23.780]The left one is in Chadron.
[00:16:25.420]The one on the right is in McCook.
[00:16:27.760]And then, of course, we have
[00:16:29.850]the Rural Utility Services,
[00:16:32.110]which does the telecom and the
[00:16:33.770]electrical programs.
[00:16:36.240]If you think about in the 1940s
[00:16:39.680]and prior to that, when there
[00:16:42.280]weren't electric lines in those
[00:16:45.190]rural areas, this was a huge
[00:16:47.660]help to those communities.
[00:16:50.420]And we continue to have loans.
[00:16:53.220]you'll see that the electrical
[00:16:55.340]utilities are, when they have
[00:16:57.580]to build new lines, they're
[00:16:59.510]still
[00:16:59.960]utilizing this electrical
[00:17:02.350]program to build new substations
[00:17:05.220]and to build out the lines that
[00:17:07.900]are
[00:17:08.180]needed out in the rural
[00:17:09.440]communities. One thing that has
[00:17:11.360]fallen under the rural utility
[00:17:13.090]services
[00:17:13.700]is broadband. And we're doing a
[00:17:16.410]lot of work in broadband. And
[00:17:18.930]Roger Meeks is the person who
[00:17:21.640]used
[00:17:21.800]to be an area director for
[00:17:23.690]rural development. He is now
[00:17:26.160]our, he does our telecom and
[00:17:28.740]broadband
[00:17:29.060]program for the RUS part of us.
[00:17:31.950]So I think we need to list a
[00:17:34.200]bullet under there for
[00:17:36.250]broadband,
[00:17:37.600]but they haven't told us we can
[00:17:39.490]do that yet. Marla, this is
[00:17:41.380]Kyle from Valentine. Can you,
[00:17:43.620]what are the limits on the
[00:17:45.320]broadband and what are the
[00:17:47.110]general terms?
[00:17:49.940]That's something that I don't
[00:17:52.030]know, Kyle. I apologize. I can
[00:17:54.520]find that out and send that out
[00:17:58.850]to the group.
[00:17:59.460]That'd be great.
[00:18:01.600]Because I think he has a fact
[00:18:03.250]sheet. So let me see if I can
[00:18:04.940]find that. And I'll call Roger
[00:18:06.870]because I need to talk to him
[00:18:08.540]about another program anyway.
[00:18:12.620]pandemic programs, I thought
[00:18:14.080]that it might be interesting.
[00:18:15.570]One thing I didn't mention
[00:18:16.980]during
[00:18:17.200]community facilities is they
[00:18:19.930]did a lot of work during the
[00:18:22.340]floods last year. They spent
[00:18:25.170]hours and
[00:18:25.960]hours trying to get people so
[00:18:27.750]that they had safe drinking
[00:18:29.470]water and to restore all of
[00:18:31.110]those
[00:18:31.580]programs. And so there were a
[00:18:33.160]lot of those dollars that went,
[00:18:34.780]that were obligated. You know,
[00:18:36.520]the thing
[00:18:37.120]about water and wastewater
[00:18:39.050]programs, those don't happen
[00:18:41.480]overnight. They usually take a
[00:18:43.530]year to get
[00:18:44.360]them. So, you know, that we've
[00:18:46.450]dealt with different
[00:18:47.720]communities where their water
[00:18:49.610]wasn't safe to drink
[00:18:50.960]and they had to do bottled
[00:18:52.430]water for a long time. But
[00:18:54.050]eventually, you know, they're
[00:18:56.030]able to get
[00:18:56.800]those systems back up and
[00:18:58.510]running. Through the pandemic
[00:19:01.160]programs, we have the B&I's CARES
[00:19:03.140]Act.
[00:19:03.740]The B&I CARES Act will allow a
[00:19:06.670]10-year working capital loan.
[00:19:10.680]It is interest.
[00:19:13.480]The interest is deferred for
[00:19:16.300]the first year.
[00:19:18.140]They don't have to make
[00:19:20.310]payments until the third year,
[00:19:23.440]which makes it very nice to, it
[00:19:28.410]allows you that opportunity to
[00:19:30.080]kind of get built back up.
[00:19:31.800]And how that loan is calculated,
[00:19:34.890]it's based on your 2017 through
[00:19:38.740]2019 tax returns, based on what
[00:19:42.490]your expenses were during that
[00:19:45.360]time period. And then they do
[00:19:47.830]an average and then they
[00:19:49.260]subtract the PPP loan. And so
[00:19:51.110]that's going to help some
[00:19:52.650]businesses.
[00:19:55.140]We were able to get our first
[00:19:56.680]one out the door before the end
[00:19:58.360]of our fiscal year, and it was
[00:20:00.030]for $24 million for an ethanol
[00:20:02.080]plant.
[00:20:02.720]But, you know, those are the
[00:20:05.140]things that this is not going
[00:20:07.480]to be over overnight.
[00:20:09.520]And so we're trying to figure
[00:20:11.440]out how long term that that can
[00:20:13.450]help and assist those
[00:20:14.880]businesses as they go through
[00:20:16.880]the pandemic.
[00:20:18.100]Extended deadlines for grants.
[00:20:22.340]There were grants that were due
[00:20:24.100]like the end of March. We
[00:20:25.570]extended those grant deadlines
[00:20:27.420]until
[00:20:27.860]the 15th of April. We tried to
[00:20:29.950]be somewhat accommodating, but
[00:20:31.810]we also had deadlines in
[00:20:33.300]order to get everything through
[00:20:35.020]the process to get money out
[00:20:36.480]the door too. So we weren't
[00:20:37.980]able
[00:20:38.340]to extend those as far as we
[00:20:40.160]probably would have liked to.
[00:20:42.360]We also had loan deferrals
[00:20:44.220]under the B&Is.
[00:20:45.620]we offered 90 to 120 day deferrals
[00:20:49.170]on those loan payments, which
[00:20:51.540]meant that those payments now
[00:20:53.230]are
[00:20:53.460]tacked on the end of their loan
[00:20:55.880]and they had to go through an
[00:20:58.100]addendum to their loan notes.
[00:21:00.820]Under the revolving loan fund lenders,
[00:21:03.540]we offered that they could
[00:21:05.300]actually offer deferral as well
[00:21:08.740]So because we knew that that
[00:21:10.290]was impacting a lot of
[00:21:11.510]businesses. So under housing,
[00:21:13.940]they could request a moratorium.
[00:21:16.680]They waived their late fee
[00:21:18.620]charges, and they also put foreclosures
[00:21:21.770]on hold so that people didn't
[00:21:23.930]have to worry about losing
[00:21:25.910]their home during that time.
[00:21:28.960]Under community facilities and
[00:21:31.600]wastewaters, they had loan
[00:21:33.930]payment. Deferral was available,
[00:21:37.040]but most of them, they make
[00:21:39.270]them set up a payment reserve,
[00:21:41.870]and so they had to use some of
[00:21:43.970]those payment reserves before
[00:21:46.570]their loans were deferred.
[00:21:49.680]One other thing I didn't
[00:21:51.190]mention, I forgot about it in
[00:21:53.100]the REAP, is another program
[00:21:54.970]that was offered this year, new
[00:21:57.030]under the Farm Bill, is the HBIP,
[00:21:59.330]which is the High Blends.
[00:22:01.160]And it's a grant to help assist
[00:22:04.270]those people who have, that
[00:22:07.240]need new tanks and new pumps to
[00:22:10.360]offer those higher blends of
[00:22:13.350]fuel.
[00:22:15.340]And that, we have a great,
[00:22:17.510]great response from that.
[00:22:19.820]It's, some of it, they require
[00:22:22.210]a little bit more environmental
[00:22:24.540]work, but they got, I think, at
[00:22:27.360]least $22 million out the door
[00:22:29.480]before the end of the fiscal
[00:22:31.250]year, and they're still working
[00:22:33.200]on those remaining grant
[00:22:34.740]applications.
[00:22:35.960]And it's my understanding that
[00:22:37.570]will be available again next
[00:22:39.060]year.
[00:22:40.640]So that's kind of like in a
[00:22:42.560]nutshell some things that are
[00:22:45.000]going on. Some of it's the old,
[00:22:47.580]same old stuff, but there are
[00:22:49.790]some new things that are going
[00:22:52.060]on and
[00:22:52.640]You know, I think sometimes it's,
[00:22:54.510]I'm always reassured to know
[00:22:55.900]that some of those programs are
[00:22:57.470]still going to be there because
[00:22:58.920]those are the programs that are
[00:23:00.600]going to make a difference in
[00:23:02.050]our rural communities.
[00:23:07.220]I don't think anybody knows the
[00:23:09.690]answer to the question of how
[00:23:11.970]long we're going to be impacted
[00:23:14.450]in dealing with COVID.
[00:23:16.580]But do you anticipate the
[00:23:19.180]potential for additional forbearance
[00:23:23.520]or any of that sort of thing?
[00:23:26.480]I have one client who's just
[00:23:28.380]pretty much upside down.
[00:23:30.360]And I don't know what we're
[00:23:31.510]going to do to assist because
[00:23:32.780]there are other mitigating
[00:23:34.020]factors that have absolutely
[00:23:35.360]nothing to do with COVID.
[00:23:37.100]but it has just made it really
[00:23:38.890]difficult for them to keep up.
[00:23:40.960]Yeah, I just think that, you
[00:23:44.460]know,
[00:23:45.320]one of the things that we did
[00:23:46.990]in our B&I CARES Act, for
[00:23:48.500]example,
[00:23:49.280]they don't have to discount
[00:23:53.640]collateral,
[00:23:55.840]which is huge for those
[00:23:58.340]businesses,
[00:23:59.960]because before, you know, you
[00:24:02.200]had to have a one-to-one,
[00:24:04.060]and you had to have it discounted
[00:24:05.960]in order to have them meet that
[00:24:07.720]requirement.
[00:24:08.820]And so that's something that's
[00:24:11.220]not there. They've, you know,
[00:24:14.020]they're,
[00:24:14.240]they're, they're, they're
[00:24:15.660]trying to be as helpful. And if
[00:24:17.200]there,
[00:24:17.720]if you have suggestions, please
[00:24:20.110]let us know, because right now,
[00:24:22.540]I feel like in the, in our
[00:24:23.890]national office, they are very
[00:24:26.270]receptive to,
[00:24:27.820]you know, information and how
[00:24:29.710]they can incorporate it.
[00:24:32.520]Well, I'm, yeah, and what we
[00:24:34.760]are operating is truly the, we're
[00:24:37.270]the intermediary. So it's not
[00:24:39.740]like I'm having trouble making
[00:24:42.050]a payment to USDA.
[00:24:43.620]Right.
[00:24:44.400]Just the guidance on how do we
[00:24:46.320]handle those loans at the
[00:24:48.000]ultimate recipient level, to
[00:24:50.080]use you guys' terminology. But
[00:24:52.430]I just don't know how long
[00:24:54.670]people are going to be able to
[00:24:57.310]hang on with, you know, even
[00:24:59.990]with a three-month forgiveness
[00:25:02.560]or whatever. But it could
[00:25:04.960]continue to get worse, I guess.
[00:25:09.420]Yeah, I think that's the scary
[00:25:11.890]part for me is that, you know,
[00:25:14.350]it may get worse before it gets
[00:25:16.910]better.
[00:25:17.700]I did it, Jenny.
[00:25:21.260]You did. Excellent. Awesome.
[00:25:24.730]Well, it sounds like we need to
[00:25:26.820]follow up with more information
[00:25:29.170]on the broadband.
[00:25:30.500]Yep, I've got it on my list.
[00:25:32.580]There's been quite a bit of
[00:25:34.670]news release traffic on some of
[00:25:37.110]those dollars coming out.
[00:25:39.460]So I will certainly post that
[00:25:41.550]with the recording that we've
[00:25:43.810]just gathered right now, as
[00:25:45.550]well as the other documents
[00:25:46.980]that you sent.
[00:25:47.880]So you also sent the Nebraska
[00:25:50.450]Direct Income Guidelines.
[00:25:53.160]And what that is, is that is
[00:25:55.580]for housing.
[00:25:57.360]If you needed to know the
[00:25:59.010]breakup of where people might
[00:26:01.100]be if people talk to you and
[00:26:02.910]they say, I don't know whether
[00:26:04.880]I qualify, you can go to those
[00:26:06.570]counties and you can actually
[00:26:08.350]see what the income levels are
[00:26:09.920]and how many people in the
[00:26:11.350]household so that they go to
[00:26:12.840]the right people.
[00:26:14.240]So I will just share that right
[00:26:17.100]now.
[00:26:17.820]I thought I attached it so that
[00:26:19.710]everybody would have it.
[00:26:21.520]And I thought that way if
[00:26:22.780]anybody couldn't be on the
[00:26:24.130]meeting today that they could
[00:26:25.880]print any of the information up
[00:26:27.260]as well.
[00:26:27.940]So if you look at that sheet, I
[00:26:31.220]think, you know, some of the
[00:26:34.880]counties are listed.
[00:26:37.260]But if your county is not
[00:26:38.790]listed, I think the last page
[00:26:40.700]shows all other counties.
[00:26:42.640]So like when you get into a lot
[00:26:45.280]of, well, maybe not.
[00:26:47.820]Because not all of the counties
[00:26:52.180]are listed, I didn't think. Or
[00:26:56.740]maybe they changed it. I'll bet
[00:26:58.870]you that all the counties are
[00:27:00.860]listed on this then.
[00:27:02.500]It used to be that they had it
[00:27:04.890]in a summary sheet and they don't
[00:27:07.500]do that summary sheet anymore.
[00:27:10.420]Well, if Hooker and Grant
[00:27:12.620]County are in here, Hayes
[00:27:14.820]County, you bet.
[00:27:17.140]Yep, they must all be listed
[00:27:18.400]then.
[00:27:18.800]Awesome.
[00:27:21.380]So I will post that as well.
[00:27:27.020]Thank you.
[00:27:28.420]What other questions do we have
[00:27:30.130]for Marla?
[00:27:30.900]Now that we've got her on the
[00:27:34.200]spot.
[00:27:38.380]You know, we do have our, we
[00:27:41.470]have field offices in Norfolk
[00:27:44.630]and Kearney and North Platte.
[00:27:48.240]It looks like you're back in
[00:27:50.340]your office.
[00:27:51.580]I am in my office a couple days
[00:27:53.760]a week.
[00:27:54.540]This week, I think I'm in, I
[00:27:56.930]was in Monday, Wednesday,
[00:27:59.150]Thursday.
[00:28:00.320]We have to take turns.
[00:28:01.800]There can only be two of us in
[00:28:03.000]the office at a time.
[00:28:04.080]So, yeah, I get to be here part
[00:28:06.540]of the time.
[00:28:08.380]so you know i had yesterday
[00:28:10.810]when i was doing when i was on
[00:28:13.340]the videos and or the zoom
[00:28:16.320]meetings i
[00:28:16.740]had my sweatpants on but today
[00:28:18.990]i have black dress slacks
[00:28:21.100]because you know
[00:28:22.220]awesome unless we make you
[00:28:25.020]stand up we can't we can't see
[00:28:28.060]anyways that's right
[00:28:30.460]but as everybody knows this is
[00:28:33.600]a fairly um relaxed group
[00:28:36.230]anyway so yeah well i
[00:28:38.400]appreciate the update
[00:28:40.600]um we use a lot of the programs
[00:28:43.740]um chadron and dawes county
[00:28:46.720]have been really wise about
[00:28:49.920]accessing the programs at usda
[00:28:52.460]real development and um we
[00:28:54.610]appreciate having the go-to
[00:28:56.950]person that's
[00:28:58.260]been there long enough to
[00:28:59.730]remember what the programs used
[00:29:01.620]to be called and all of that.
[00:29:03.460]When you look at a loan that NNDC
[00:29:06.840]got in 2007, when that came to
[00:29:11.400]us, I think everybody went,
[00:29:14.500]oh, she's 30 years. That's
[00:29:16.440]forever. Well, guess what? We're
[00:29:18.860]quite a ways into making the
[00:29:20.210]payments
[00:29:20.900]on that. So it doesn't take
[00:29:22.990]long in the bigger scheme of
[00:29:25.260]things. So appreciate the
[00:29:27.190]updates,
[00:29:28.000]Marla. Yep, you're welcome. You
[00:29:31.090]know, and part of it is, I
[00:29:33.080]always tell people, you know,
[00:29:35.940]even if,
[00:29:36.520]you know, plant the seed, and
[00:29:38.610]if there's something I
[00:29:40.130]mentioned, if I don't, one
[00:29:42.060]thing about living in
[00:29:43.640]the western part of the state,
[00:29:45.360]if I don't have the answer, I
[00:29:46.930]know some other program that
[00:29:48.510]might be
[00:29:49.140]able to and we're very good
[00:29:50.680]about sharing which I don't
[00:29:52.300]know that it happens that much
[00:29:54.060]toward the
[00:29:54.800]eastern you know and I'm
[00:29:56.210]generalizing I guess but I just
[00:29:58.040]think that we work really well
[00:29:59.790]together
[00:30:00.460]and we try to figure out ways
[00:30:02.850]to help people do what they
[00:30:04.960]want to do.
[00:30:05.800]So upcoming next in two weeks
[00:30:12.740]we have
[00:30:14.180]Um, um, losing my name here. Um,
[00:30:18.930]anyway, the REAP program is
[00:30:20.620]what we'll be covering,
[00:30:22.100]and I'm still waiting, um, to
[00:30:24.190]hear from Terry Rywich about
[00:30:26.020]the, the young entrepreneurs.
[00:30:28.390]Uh,
[00:30:28.800]she's talked to one of them,
[00:30:30.110]but I haven't heard a date yet,
[00:30:31.510]so it'll be in November,
[00:30:32.740]but I don't know, um, I think
[00:30:34.390]it will be in November, uh,
[00:30:36.000]which date it will be.
[00:30:38.160]So Jenny, is Anthony doing the
[00:30:40.650]program?
[00:30:41.640]Anthony.
[00:30:42.280]I know there was somebody else
[00:30:44.820]yesterday on one of the
[00:30:46.740]meetings, Hallie, and she does
[00:30:49.500]the women's side of it.
[00:30:50.720]Well, I think it'll be good to
[00:30:53.500]revisit some of those.
[00:30:55.960]And sometimes I find out, I
[00:30:57.780]think, oh, well, you already do
[00:31:00.310]that.
[00:31:00.680]And so Anthony was able to
[00:31:02.080]point out a couple of programs
[00:31:03.770]that I had some clients that
[00:31:05.300]fit right in.
[00:31:06.540]And it's nice when we, I
[00:31:08.140]actually ran into a young man
[00:31:10.060]in Chadron, and he had his
[00:31:11.730]business plan all in place,
[00:31:13.480]which is like, cool, awesome.
[00:31:15.380]I said, now have you talked to
[00:31:16.640]Reap?
[00:31:17.040]Oh, yeah, yeah.
[00:31:17.740]You know, I was there for my
[00:31:19.180]last business.
[00:31:20.180]He had already done a business
[00:31:21.850]through Reap.
[00:31:22.840]So well acquainted with the
[00:31:24.930]programs there.
[00:31:26.260]All righty.
[00:31:29.560]I don't have anything else
[00:31:30.980]unless you guys do.
[00:31:36.540]Jenny, I wondered if we should
[00:31:38.740]mention about the South Dakota
[00:31:40.930]local foods, if anybody has any
[00:31:43.480]interest or anybody that might
[00:31:45.160]be interested in the local
[00:31:46.810]foods, because that is going to
[00:31:48.580]be virtual this year.
[00:31:50.000]The South Dakota Foods
[00:31:51.260]Conference, they have an
[00:31:52.610]awesome conference, and it's
[00:31:54.360]going to be November 5th
[00:31:55.610]through the 7th. It's virtual
[00:31:57.940]and it's $30 for the whole
[00:32:00.000]thing. So pretty good value.
[00:32:02.620]It's not like the $200, but it's
[00:32:05.080]the, I mean, $30 seemed to me
[00:32:07.240]pretty reasonable.
[00:32:08.800]And they're going to have chef
[00:32:10.590]demonstrations.
[00:32:11.860]I mean, they have an awesome
[00:32:13.750]list of things that they're
[00:32:15.490]going to be presenting.
[00:32:17.320]Yeah, I'm going to share that
[00:32:18.820]website.
[00:32:19.480]Yeah, it was supposed to be in
[00:32:21.120]Sturgis, which I would have
[00:32:22.690]liked to have gone and seen
[00:32:24.130]that.
[00:32:24.740]But they do have a lot of
[00:32:26.070]really good stuff coming up.
[00:32:27.900]And $30 is one of those things.
[00:32:31.620]I know the question I had for
[00:32:33.510]you, Marla, when you were doing
[00:32:35.970]your three, your four B's of
[00:32:37.620]the panhandle, I wanted you to
[00:32:39.700]expand on maybe what some of
[00:32:41.540]the programs around the beans
[00:32:43.540]or the hogs, you know, what are
[00:32:45.700]people doing with the value
[00:32:47.540]added grants around some of
[00:32:49.430]those products?
[00:32:54.200]Right now with beans, we haven't
[00:32:56.590]done anything, but I keep
[00:32:58.560]thinking there's got to be
[00:33:00.180]something that we can do there.
[00:33:02.680]With the hogs, one of the
[00:33:04.780]things that they've done is,
[00:33:07.280]now I can't think of the term
[00:33:09.620]they use, but they're not
[00:33:11.780]pasture, they're the organic.
[00:33:14.860]Organic.
[00:33:15.540]they've done you know that and
[00:33:17.650]they're they they label those
[00:33:19.900]organic and they have um you
[00:33:21.840]know not
[00:33:22.460]no um no you know hormones or
[00:33:24.850]chemicals hormones or chemicals
[00:33:27.660]yeah hormones like i couldn't
[00:33:30.400]think
[00:33:30.820]of it but they that's how they
[00:33:32.910]have done that and they
[00:33:34.560]actually have a group of of
[00:33:36.460]people that
[00:33:37.420]have done that but that one's
[00:33:38.920]on the eastern end of the state
[00:33:40.510]and they have like a consortium
[00:33:42.140]that
[00:33:42.540]they work together and they
[00:33:44.440]supply that. Were you able to
[00:33:46.890]help the McDonald's apiary
[00:33:48.460]folks?
[00:33:49.200]One of the challenges with
[00:33:51.120]McDonald's, because I talked to
[00:33:53.560]Susan at length about it,
[00:33:55.580]is that they need help with
[00:33:58.550]transportation to Texas or to,
[00:34:02.520]but that's, we could help with
[00:34:05.850]the
[00:34:06.300]bottling, but we can't help
[00:34:08.690]with the other parts of it. And
[00:34:11.220]so I have talked to them,
[00:34:13.340]but we could do something like
[00:34:14.990]labeling and bottling. We can
[00:34:16.780]do that. That's what we did
[00:34:18.460]like with the winery. We did a
[00:34:20.380]lot of labels and bottles for
[00:34:22.160]them. Well, I'm curious about
[00:34:24.400]this whole seems to be very
[00:34:26.640]labor intensive, expensive,
[00:34:29.410]shipping the bees back and
[00:34:31.940]forth
[00:34:32.300]kind of thing um if they're
[00:34:34.060]actually ship them back
[00:34:35.670]somewhere i know it's because
[00:34:37.680]of the
[00:34:38.160]temperature but is it so that
[00:34:39.860]they can actually use them out
[00:34:41.620]there or or are they literally
[00:34:43.520]just
[00:34:44.460]because of the temperature
[00:34:45.630]because couldn't we figure out
[00:34:46.940]a way to keep them here and
[00:34:47.990]keep them
[00:34:48.480]warm and alive instead of
[00:34:49.950]putting them on trucks and hauling
[00:34:51.980]back to california now in california
[00:34:54.200]what they're doing is they're
[00:34:55.640]pollinating the almonds okay
[00:34:57.080]and so they need them back
[00:34:58.550]there as
[00:34:58.820]well yeah and then in Texas I
[00:35:01.040]think it's more warmth but yet
[00:35:03.450]I think they also um they there's
[00:35:06.160]still some um sweet clover that
[00:35:08.770]they're getting honey from that
[00:35:11.460]sweet clover down in Texas yeah
[00:35:14.160]they have a really odd um list
[00:35:16.980]of growing seasons in Texas I I
[00:35:19.930]have a a friend it's actually a
[00:35:23.000]relative that has the gigantic
[00:35:25.410]live oak trees and what that
[00:35:27.540]does at certain times of the
[00:35:29.940]year
[00:35:30.100]and the pollen and all and it's
[00:35:31.680]like really your season is that
[00:35:33.300]much different than ours and
[00:35:34.820]they
[00:35:35.200]said well the season is pretty
[00:35:36.720]much year-round so yeah that's
[00:35:38.290]the difference there and I can
[00:35:39.920]understand that and I certainly
[00:35:41.860]understand that it's keeping
[00:35:43.640]those critters alive and how
[00:35:45.360]difficult
[00:35:46.080]that would be where you'd put
[00:35:47.970]them in Nebraska in the wintertime
[00:35:50.010]I understand I was just
[00:35:51.460]concerned
[00:35:52.240]that if there was a way to not
[00:35:53.980]have that expense, but if they're
[00:35:55.900]utilized elsewhere, that makes
[00:35:57.290]all
[00:35:57.480]kinds of sense. You know, and
[00:35:59.020]one of the things that will
[00:36:00.280]happen, and I think that's
[00:36:01.840]something I
[00:36:02.340]guess I should share, is
[00:36:03.750]sometimes different states will
[00:36:05.650]have different initiatives
[00:36:07.360]through
[00:36:08.400]USDA. A few years ago, I had
[00:36:10.310]somebody come to me and say,
[00:36:12.150]well, they're offering this
[00:36:14.080]program on bees,
[00:36:16.140]And it's like, but that's in a
[00:36:17.790]different state, not in
[00:36:19.230]Nebraska.
[00:36:20.000]I was down in Oklahoma where my
[00:36:22.390]nephew lives down by Oklahoma
[00:36:24.610]City.
[00:36:25.340]And there are all these sweet
[00:36:28.610]clover fields.
[00:36:30.700]I mean, everywhere you look, it's
[00:36:33.250]solid yellow.
[00:36:34.500]Well, they had an initiative
[00:36:36.890]because of all of the
[00:36:38.280]pesticides and the bees, they
[00:36:40.460]were
[00:36:40.640]trying to increase those pollinators
[00:36:42.490]in order to keep those bees
[00:36:43.750]going.
[00:36:44.920]So like I said, I think that's
[00:36:47.310]part of why they send their
[00:36:49.280]bees to Texas too,
[00:36:50.780]is to help with that process,
[00:36:53.390]that pollination.
[00:36:55.300]All right. Great conversation.
[00:37:01.310]Lots of good information.
[00:37:03.620]I'll say it's probably time to
[00:37:07.980]sign off,
[00:37:09.180]And we'll see you either in a
[00:37:11.570]week at our Thirsty Thursday or
[00:37:14.080]in two weeks online here.
[00:37:16.440]Thanks again for letting me
[00:37:18.330]talk about rural development.
[00:37:20.640]And again, if anybody has any
[00:37:21.900]questions, please feel free to
[00:37:23.250]reach out.
[00:37:23.840]Thanks again.
[00:37:25.800]Thanks, Marla.
[00:37:26.520]Thank you.
[00:37:26.820]Bye.

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