This document summarizes the key findings of a 2014 survey of 77 US rural electric cooperatives on their smart grid initiatives and trends. The top benefits of smart grid for rural utilities are reduced restoration times, increased visibility and control of the grid, and analytics-based decision making. While costs are a significant challenge, most rural utilities have some smart grid efforts underway or planned, with automatic meter reading and advanced metering infrastructure being common projects. Integration of distributed energy resources and developing expertise in data analytics were also highlighted as challenges for rural cooperatives.