USDA is announcing it intends to make significant investments to expand processing capacity and increase competition in meat and poultry processing to make agricultural markets more accessible, fair, competitive, and resilient. USDA will commit $500 million in the form of grants, loans, and technical assistance to support new competitive entrants in meat and poultry processing, as well as more than $55 million in grants to strengthen existing small and very small meat processing capacity.

USDA Rural Development announced it is investing $21 million to provide broadband service in rural areas in New York without sufficient broadband access. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an interagency agreement to share information about and coordinate the distribution of broadband deployment federal funds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that USDA is investing $185 million to equip, rebuild, and modernize essential services in rural areas of 32 states through the USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. The investments will benefit 3 million rural residents.

Community Housing Opportunities Corporation recently received $22.6 million of state financing to begin the construction of new affordable housing in Coachella. In total, the project will cost $35.3 million. Funding for it includes $5 million from the Joe Serna Farmworker Grant, a program that deploys funding to support housing for farmworkers and their families in rural areas. A $3.8 million Coachella CFD loan and USDA Rural Development financing are also part of the funds.