The state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency encouraged area leaders Wednesday to look for opportunities they could partner with the program to better the community.

“We’re here to figure out how we can assist you — be a partner,” said Colleen Landkamer, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to her position in July of 2009.

As the keynote speaker at the Greater Jobs Inc. annual meeting at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club, Landkamer talked about some of Rural Development’s 40 programs and showed how the program has been able to help communities.

She said during the fiscal year 2009, the program invested more than $600 million in Minnesota. And in 2010, they expect to do more, as stimulus money is available for seven of the 40 programs.

Landkamer, who previously served as a Blue Earth County commissioner, said the Rural Development Agency has community, business and housing programs.

In the business sector, there are business and industry loan guarantees, rural business enterprise loans and grants, and a rural energy for America program, to name a few.

An example of the rural business enterprise grants was when Greater Jobs received a $75,000 grant to create a revolving loan fund in 2009 for small and emerging businesses.

The rural energy program is for things such as wind turbines, geothermal or solar energy advancements.

Landkamer said the agency has a multitude of opportunities available that others don’t have. She asked how they can make them more marketable.

Under housing, the Rural Development Agency offers direct loans, guaranteed loans and even other grants.

She said if people have a safe place to live, their lives usually get better.

She noted that rural development is about building capacity in a community.

Landkamer was named “County Leader of the Year” by American City and County Magazine in 2000 and served as president of the National Association of Counties from 2006 to 2007, among other achievements.

After the meeting, Landkamer visited Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services to view a wall that displays successes springing from USDA loans that came via the cooperative. Trail’s Travel Center, Poet Biorefining and Albert Lea Medical Center were some of the examples.

Mary Nelson at Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services told Landkamer the cooperative has given $2.3 million in local loans either through Rural Development’s economic development program or the revolving loan fund.