USDA Blog

As the peak of the 2009 hurricane season approaches, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is providing recommendations to minimize the chance of foodborne illnesses due to power outages and other problems caused by severe weather.

Secretary Vilsack spoke this morning at the Future Farmers of America State Presidents' meeting. He had the opportunity to meet with FFA's national and state leaders, and took a few minutes to congratulate them on their election to leadership posts in an organization of more than 500,000 active...

Secretary Vilsack prepared a message this month describing the purpose and mission of the Peoples' Garden at USDA headquarters in Washington, DC. Here's the first part of the message. Check it out, and be sure to visit the Peoples' Garden web page and Twitter feed. From: Agriculture Secretary Tom...

Secretary Vilsack just announced an additional $274 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for conservation and restoration projects in our nation's forests. The money will mean more American jobs, better trails and scenery in the forests, and new work to maintain these national...

When President Obama announced United We Serve, a summer service initiative to encourage all Americans to reach out in service to their neighbors and communities, he was very clear that the government acting alone can’t pull America through these hard economic times.

As you may have seen, it's been a busy week on the Rural Tour. Secretary Vilsack visited Wisconsin last Thursday, Virginia on Saturday, and yesterday met with three other members of the Obama cabinet in St. John's Parish, Louisiana to discuss a broad range of issues facing rural America.

The Obama administration has called on Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life to work to improve their communities as part of the United We Serve project. Here at USDA, many of our more than 100,000 employees are doing their part. They are driven to serve, and proud to identify ways to use...

This week, the U.S. Forest Service celebrates the 65th birthday of one of its most prolific workers -- Smokey Bear. This afternoon in the Whitten Federal Building, area children and the public joined the agency for Smokey's official birthday celebration, where Forest Service officials had nothing...

What a beautiful, sunny, not-too-hot day in D.C.! It was perfect for today's Peoples' Garden workshop, which focused broadly on the many ways you can make your garden work for you -- by planting different vegetables, and knowing how they're bets prepared. Volunteer staff presented tips on utilizing...

Amy Sents spent the summer as an intern in the White House Liaison Office at USDA; she is currently a junior at Kansas State University. When mapping out my plans for this summer, Washington D.C. was about the furthest from my mind, that is until I read an e-mail in early May from one of the...