NATCHEZ &045;&045; For Audrey Rice, it was the best birthday present she could have received.

In September 2002, Rice moved into a home of her own in the Broadmoor subdivision, a house built from the ground up with U.S. Department of Agriculture loan money.

Rice said she first found out about USDA loans through a newspaper article and was persuaded by her children to sign up. &uot;They said that with the rent I was paying on an apartment, I could pay on a house,&uot; Rice said.

And Rice said that from the time she applied, friendly local USDA staff led her through each step of the process until her house was complete.

Home ownership &uot;is something I didn’t have when I was younger, but I thank God that he allowed me to have it in my golden years,&uot; the 65-year-old Rice, a former resident of Susie B. West Apartments, said.

It’s a story that has been repeated dozens of times in Adams County alone, said Nick Walters, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development.

Not only that, but the Office of Rural Development makes loans to help businesses start and expand, as well as grants and loans for local governments to build needed infrastructure. &uot;Our job is to find out what we can do to keep people in rural Mississippi,&uot; Walters said.

&uot;And they’re not going to stay in a place if there’s not good housing, good infrastructure, where they don’t feel safe, where there aren’t good job opportunities.&uot;

In the last fiscal year alone, Mississippi was the recipient of $230 million in USDA funds.

Perhaps the most visible project funded recently with Rural Development loan money was the purchase of a state-of-the-art digital printing system by JM Digital Printing &045;&045; with the aid of a $600,000 Rural Development loan.

&uot;When you talk about rural entrepreneurship, JM is a perfect example &045;&045; that business was started out of a garage,&uot; Walters said.

Growing small businesses is the key to growing jobs in rural Mississippi, Walters said. &uot;If we’re waiting for the Nissans of the world, we’ll be waiting a long time,&uot; he said.

In addition, the office has made funding available for community facilities in both Wilkinson and Amite counties, Walters said.

And in the past year, Rural Development has directed more and more of its funds to health care &045;&045; most recently, financing improvements to hospitals in Jefferson Davis and Newton counties.

It has also helped fund the expansion of clinics into the rural areas that need them the most, Walters said.

His office plans to hold health care summits in regions throughout the state to make local health officials aware of the program.

Next, Rural Development wants to pursue state legislation that could allow schools to access USDA loan funds.

Meanwhile, Walters and Johnny Jones, the head of the office’s housing program, were in Natchez Friday to speak to Realtors about the housing loan programs the department has to offer.

Those include:

4Direct housing loans. Under this program, people with up to 80 percent of the county’s median income can take out loans for new or existing houses with no down payment required.

Income limits range from $20,450 for a one-person household to $29,200 for a four-person household.

4Guaranteed housing loans. With this program, people with up to 115 percent of the county’s median income may qualify for a loan, with Rural Development guaranteeing up to 90 percent of the loan. &uot;That way, the bank has minimal risk,&uot; Jones said.

Income limits range from $43,800 for a one-person household to $62,550 for a four-person household.

4Loans for home improvement and repair assistance.

Just a few short years ago, Mississippi’s Rural Development office wasn’t spending all its loan funds and had to send thousands of dollars back to Washington.

Now it’s using its share and then some, Walters said. &uot;And the reason,&uot; he said, &uot;is because more people are becoming aware of these programs.&uot;