USDA Blog

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has implemented several customer experience (CX) improvements since President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government in December 2021. The executive order directed all...

From September 15 through October 15, we acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating equity champions in the Hispanic agricultural community. One of these champions is David Josué Carrasquillo-Medrano, a member of USDA Equity Commission’s Rural Community Economic Development (RCED)...

Last year USDA Rural Development awarded more than $10 million in ReConnect Program funding to bring high-speed internet access to Madison County, New York. USDA’s ReConnect Program offers loans and grants to construct, improve, and build equipment to provide broadband service in eligible rural...

Often when we think of rural broadband, we think about how internet access has revolutionized the way Americans consume media, conduct business, learn, and receive medical care via telemedicine. Over the last two decades, USDA has been making significant progress in connecting rural communities to...

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, long-standing USDA Rural Development partners Pine Telephone and Pine Cellular in southeastern Oklahoma answered the call to serve their communities.

Wisconsin students across the state adapted to the new normal with e-Learning studies since the Badger State entered the “Safer at Home” status in late March. If you live in a metro area, you probably didn’t struggle with lack of service or low bandwidth. But in the rural areas, it was a big...

Hilliary Communications, which serves parts of Oklahoma and Texas, has reinforced its commitment to its customers and communities with a series of upgrades in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. This is especially important since students across the state will begin distance learning on April 6 as...

Good news rang in Washington State when I joined representatives from Mason Public Utility District (PUD) 3 at the start of USDA’s Broadband ReConnect Workshop in Seattle to celebrate a $2.4 million investment to bring high-speed broadband to 250 households and businesses in rural Mason County.

“If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” I was reminded of this powerful proverb while preparing for our ReConnect program announcement. As a former teacher, education and its long-reaching benefits...

The bold and rugged coast of Downeast Maine is home to a rural community of 300, where the people have made a living off the land and sea for generations. The Town of Roque Bluffs contains a state park and boasts some of the most beautiful coastline in Maine - yet it is the people who are its...