USDA opens Affordable Rural Cooperative loan funding for FY2026

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has opened the fiscal year (FY) 2026 cycle of the Affordable Rural Cooperative (ARC) Program, soliciting Letters of Interest (LOI) for loan applications from eligible rural electric cooperatives. The notice, signed by Karl Elmshaeuser, Administrator of RUS, was published in the Federal Register of Wednesday, September 16, 2026, under Docket No. RUS–26–ELECTRIC–0265 and FR Doc. 2026–18980.

The announcement sets out the application process and the deadlines for submissions, and it is the last time the funding opportunity will be advertised in the Federal Register. In future years, the agency warns, neither the funding opportunity nor any reference to it on grants.gov will appear in the Federal Register, so applicants should note the change of venue in their records.

Program scope and legal basis

The ARC Program channels federal loan support to rural electric cooperatives as a key source of local rural infrastructure financing. The notice is issued under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 901, and the full text of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is available on the agency website and on grants.gov.

Applicants and interested parties should use the following official identifiers:

• Funding Opportunity Number RUS–ARC–2026
• Assistance Listing Number 10.758
• Program guidance at rd.usda.gov (Electric Programs, Affordable Rural Cooperative Program)
• Full funding notice available on grants.gov

Contacts and deadlines

The notice is effective as of September 16, 2026. For further information, the agency designates Christopher A. McLean, Assistant Administrator of the Electric Program at RUS, as the point of contact, reachable at 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1568, Washington, DC 20250–1560, telephone 202–690–4492, or by email at SM.RD.RUS.ARC-Questions@usda.gov.

Eligible entities are invited to submit their Letters of Interest within the deadlines set out in the full NOFO, which contains the detailed terms, eligibility criteria and application requirements for the FY2026 cycle.

What this means for rural cooperatives

For rural electric cooperatives, the ARC Program represents a recurring, federally backed source of capital for infrastructure investment in underserved rural areas. Because this is the final year the opportunity will be publicized through the Federal Register, cooperatives and their advisors should register on grants.gov and monitor the agency website directly to avoid missing future cycles.

The shift to website-only announcements reflects a broader federal trend toward digital dissemination of funding opportunities, and it places the responsibility on applicants to track the program through official channels rather than relying on the printed register.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 178, September 16, 2026, Notices section (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–18980, Docket No. RUS–26–ELECTRIC–0265).