November 2019

A female (hen) wild turkey in front of a male (tom). Photo courtesy of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Patti Shay, management support assistant, has been with Rural Development for 19 years, at the Maine state office, in Bangor. She also is a tribal member of the Penobscot Nation, located in Old Town.

ARS developed the Beltsville Small White turkey in response to consumer demand. It dominated the market and transformed how Americans think of Thanksgiving. (ARS photo)

To some people, hunting is a foreign concept. In the era of readily-packaged meats easily purchased at a nearby grocery store, the need—outside the sport of it—might seem outdated.

North Dakota is a remarkable agricultural state and very rural. Farms and ranches dominate hundreds of miles of roads, and distances between services can be great. With so much wide-open space, our first responders and medical facilities play critical roles in ensuring the health and safety of our agricultural producers. Recently, their expertise and professionalism saved the life of a coworker and good friend.

Have you ever wanted to view food sources of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in your diet? The National Agricultural Library’s Food and Nutrition Information Center now houses 36 tables of foods according to their nutrient content. The tables are available for vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and macronutrients and are listed in household measure from the highest to lowest in nutrient content. For those with accessibility needs, a CSV format is also available.

This week is World Antibiotic Awareness Week and USDA’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) remains committed to using a “One Health” approach in conducting research that will identify solutions to help prolong the usefulness of a very precious resource—antibiotics. For example, ARS research includes understanding how common production practices might impact antimicrobial resistance and understanding whether certain animal pathogens may be a public health concern.

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and you may be spending a lot of time with family, friends, and eating tons of great food. Thanksgiving can be busy, especially with all the preparation and planning, but everyone can have a food safe turkey-day by keeping these four simple steps in mind.

Numerous tribes throughout the US are growing native plants for reforestation and restoration. For many of them however, there are deeper connections with the plants they’re propagating. Sure, the plants fulfill an ecological purpose for the projects they’re intended for, but often there can be deeper cultural connections as well. That is, seedlings intended for a restoration project may contain species of plants the tribe used traditionally.