Hi, everyone!

In an effort to help make the benefits of the federal government more accessible to you, I wanted to make sure you know about an exciting grant opportunity that is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA-RD)

Last week, I was thrilled to congratulate Edgewater Farm in Plainfield and 30 other farms and small businesses around the state on receiving grants from the USDA-RD’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to help support renewable energy projects.  As our farms and small businesses look to succeed in today’s economy and business market, it is important they are adequately supported by rural development to embrace clean, renewable, sustainableforms of energy – and I am thrilled that this grant helps them to do just that without sacrificing their bottom line.  I fought to ensure REAP’s reauthorization and to streamline the application process in the 2014 Farm Bill, and it is wonderful to see Granite Staters benefiting from this program.

And while it is incredibly exciting for Edgewater Farm and all of the other recent grant recipients, the great news is that REAP is currently accepting its next round of applications! If you have a renewable energy or energy efficiency project in mind related to an agricultural business or small business that is under $80,000, you can apply for a grant to help offset 25 percent of costs related to the project. Contact Ken Yearman at 802-828-6070 or Kenneth.Yearman@vt.usda.gov for more information about applying for this funding.

As always, if I can be supportive of a grant application that you are working on, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of my district offices to request a letter of support. My offices are here to assist you.

Thank you for all that you to make New Hampshire such a wonderful place to live!