The St. Croix Electric Cooperative receiving a $1 million loan through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program.
By Veronica Hinke, public information officer, USDA Rural Development Wisconsin
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has programs that can help increase rural prosperity throughout rural America. Rural Development has partnered with businesses across Wisconsin that have helped create jobs and expand market access.
Rural Development programs promote economic development by supporting loans to businesses through banks and community-managed lending pools. The agency offers technical assistance to help agricultural producers and cooperatives get started and to improve the effectiveness of their operations.
“Our mission is to unleash the potential of rural Wisconsin,” said Rural Development Wisconsin State Director Andrew C. Iverson. “Rural Development’s programs under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Rollins will support the economy and quality of life for people in rural Wisconsin.”
Investing in Rural Businesses
Rural Development’s business programs support the creation and preservation of high-quality jobs in rural Wisconsin. In fiscal year 2025, Rural Development invested more than $73 million to help rural businesses and cooperatives in Wisconsin build stronger, more resilient communities, creating or saving hundreds of jobs along the way.
Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program Highlight
• The Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program provides funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. In Wilson, the St. Croix Electric Cooperative received a $1 million loan through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. The electric cooperative will reloan the funds to Sailer Food Market and Meat Processing Inc. to expand
its meat processing operation into the snack meats market. The project will save 28 jobs and create an additional five jobs.
Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program Highlight
• This Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program offers loan guarantees to lenders for their loans to rural businesses. Farmer-owned Westby Cooperative Creamery, the only cottage cheese
manufacturer in Wisconsin, will expand and modernize its manufacturing facility with a nearly $15.5 million Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan through Security Financial Bank.
“Our current equipment is continuing to age. Before it meets end-of-life, we want to modernize and, just as important, we want to meet customer demand for this dairy food,” said Westby Cooperative Creamery’s Chief Executive Officer and President JD Greenwalt. “We’ve been making cottage cheese the same way for 100 years. This new system reduces the physical strain on employees and enhances consistency in product quality. By modernizing and investing in the plant, the creamery is protecting current jobs and ensuring long-term stability for our farmer-owners.”
Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program Highlight
• The Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan program provides financial support to qualified lenders to make loans to eligible borrowers seeking to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand
or improve a sawmill or other wood processing facility who uses ecosystem restoration byproducts from the USDA Forest Service National Forest System lands, along with Indian forest and
rangelands. In Tilleda, Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises will re-establish and expand the former Hoffman Wood Fiber LLC sawmill with an $800,000 Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan. Six jobs will be created initially, with more added as the sawmill expands. The mill will help ease the strain of timber processing in Wisconsin, where multiple sawmills have closed in recent years.
“Transportation is a big cost, so the more mill capacity we can have at a local level, that reduces transportation, it brings the cost of raw material down, and it helps, overall, to keep the industries that are there operating,” said Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association and the Forest Industry Safety Training Alliance Executive Director Henry Schienebeck.
Value-Added Producer Grant Program Update
• The Value-Added Producer Grant program helps agricultural producers turn raw commodities into higher-value products, expand market opportunities, and strengthen rural economies. The
Value-Added Producer Grant program supports planning activities, such as feasibility studies, business plans, and marketing strategies, or working capital needs, including processing, packaging, advertising, inventory, and personnel.
For more information on the Value-Added Producer Grant program, contact wi-rd-bcp-so@usda.gov.
Contact Information
Rural Development programs help to expand access to high-speed internet, electricity, and infrastructure, and support economic growth, healthcare, education, housing and other community essentials. You can find contact information for local Rural Development staff in Wisconsin on our website at https://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices/wi or email us at RD.WI.General.Inquiries@usda.gov
