SBA Launches Small/Rural Lender Initiative
WASHINGTON, DC-- The U.S. Small Business Administration today extended to its Region VII an initiative aimed at fostering economic development in America’s rural areas by making it easier for smaller community banks and credit unions to use SBA loan products to finance small businesses.

Deere Second-Quarter Earnings Reach Record $763 Million
MOLINE, IL -- Deere & Company today announced worldwide net income of $763.5 million, or $1.74 per share, for the second quarter ended April 30, compared with $623.6 million, or $1.36 per share, for the same period last year. For the first six months, net income was $1.133 billion, or $2.56 per share, compared with $862.3 million, or $1.88 per share, last year.

Susquehanna Aquacultures Offers Guided Tour of Fish Farm
HOLTWOOD -- Susquehanna Aquacultures Inc., growers of farm-raised hybrid striped bass, is one of the largest facilities in the country to use warm water from a power plant for fish farming. The facility has been in operation since 1988 and provides 400,000 pounds of fresh striped bass each year. PPL Brunner Island will be leading a tour of the Susquehanna Aquacultures Fish Farm at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 28.

PA Preferred, Giant Host Regional Trade Show
HARRISBURG -- Small companies that manufacture or produce products in Pennsylvania may have a chance to sell their goods at one of the mid-Atlantic region’s leading grocery store chains, thanks to a regional trade show hosted by PA Preferred, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.

Fairview Township Saves Over $3.5 Million By Purchase of Nutrient Credits
LANCASTER --Red Barn Trading Company has executed a long-term sales agreement with Fairview Township, York County, for the purchase of 300,000 nutrient credits over a period of fifteen years. This sales contract is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania involving a publicly-owned sewage treatment facility that is required to meet Chesapeake Bay compliance for nitrogen and phosphorous by 2010.