USDA abruptly cancels rural energy grant application window

USDA abruptly cancels rural energy grant application window

For over two decades, Bruce Everly has been helping Indiana farmers apply for funding from the federal Rural Energy for America Program, which provides grants for solar, wind, energy-efficiency upgrades, grain dryers, biodigesters, and other projects in rural America. He’s seen it serve as an economic lifeline for small farmers, especially the state’s poultry producers who operate on thin profit margins. But the program, known as REAP, has faced…

Trump’s rural energy freeze hits Midwest, GOP districts hardest

Ongoing delays and disruptions to a federal rural energy program threaten to disproportionately impact Midwest farmers and Republican congressional districts, experts say. For more than two decades, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has helped thousands of farmers install solar, energy-efficient grain…