Theresa Greenfield (left) will end her role as state director for USDA Rural Development in Iowa. Kate Sand (right) has served as the deputy director since 2022 and will take over the position. (Photo by Cecilia Lynch/USDA)
Theresa Greenfield, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development state director for Iowa, announced Tuesday that Kate Sand, the acting deputy director, will be taking her place during the upcoming administration.
Greenfield has been director of the office since November 2021 and will officially depart Jan. 20, according to a press release.
“It’s been an honor to serve the people of Iowa as State Director for USDA Rural Development,” Greenfield said in a statement.
Sand, a native Iowan, has worked with Iowa USDA Rural Development since 2004, and was the community program director for 10 years before transitioning to her current role as deputy state director in November 2022.
She has degrees from Buena Vista University and the University of Iowa, and she grew up on a farm near Joice in north-central Iowa.
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Rural Development funds more clean energy projects
The office on Tuesday also announced 51 grant recipients of the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, and the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, or HBIIP. Both programs were funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The majority of the $1 million in REAP funding allocation went toward solar array projects on farms and rural businesses, with a few grants going toward energy efficiency updates. A total of 44 REAP grants were awarded.
HBIIP funds went to six fueling station companies to expand the availability of ethanol and biodiesel blends with installations of E15, E85 and B20 dispensers at fueling stations in rural areas of the state.
The HBIIP grants totaled more than $2.7 million and funded six Iowa projects. Additionally, Petro Mart LLC was awarded $1.8 million in HBIIP grant funding to install E15 and B20 dispensers, as well as biodiesel and ethanol storage tanks at fueling stations in both Iowa and Nebraska, according to Iowa Rural Development.
“Rural America is the backbone of our economy and key to enabling our energy independence and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels,” Greenfield said in a press release. “At USDA, we will continue working to expand clean energy, lower costs for Iowans, and build an economy that benefits working families and small businesses.”
The investments in Iowa were part of a nationwide allocation of REAP and HBIIP funding announced by USDA Jan. 10 and totaling nearly $180 million.
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