By SCBIZ Staff

COLUMBIA — USDA Rural Development State Director Tee Miller announced that South Carolina received more than $2.8 million to assist rural communities and businesses.

“These funds will help create jobs and provide for essential services in rural areas,” said Miller.  The projects funded today will help to create an estimated 207 jobs and save 100 jobs.”

The funds are provided through Rural Development’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. Under the program, Rural Development provides loans and grants to Rural Utilities Program borrowers, usually rural telephone or electrical cooperatives, which in turn provide loans to rural businesses ad communities in their service areas. Rural Development will provide more than $2.8 million in loans to successful applicants who competed nationally for these funds.

Projects being funded include:
• A $740,000 loan to Pee Dee Electric Cooperative Inc. to enable McCall Farms Inc. of Effingham to build a 22,800-square-foot processing and freezing center with equipment and engine generation and mechanical room.
• A $740,000 loan to Aiken Electric Cooperative Inc. to enable Woodhead LLC to finance the purchase of new boilers, communication equipment and construction of additional office space for its production facility in Graniteville.
• A $740,000 loan to Laurens Electric Cooperative to construct a 13,500-square-foot shop building as part of the Martin Brothers Co. expansion project in Gray Court.
• A $600,000 loan to Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative Inc. for MST Concrete Products Inc. to finance equipment for plant expansion in Central.

A complete list of the loan and grant recipients is available online.

USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in rural communities.