USDA Blog

Residents of the Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul, Minn., will soon enjoy a burst of green throughout their neighborhood and breathe easier, thanks to a newly formalized partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and a local environmental nonprofit organization, Tree Trust. Through its Urban...

The MyPlate Team continues to share “Makeover Monday” recipes each week on the USDA blog and the MyPlate Facebook page through January 6 th. This holiday season, the nutritionists at the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion have shared some of their favorite holiday recipes during our MyPlate...

Over the course of 2013, we’ve seen yet another banner year for U.S. agricultural exports. Exports of U.S. farm and ranch products reached a record $140.9 billion in 2013 and supported about a million U.S. jobs. In fact, compared to the previous five-year period from 2004-2008, U.S. agricultural...

This is the fourteenth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. Are you a certified organic operation looking to increase your market presence? USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently published two fact sheets that explain...

A year ago this week, Misty Allen and her daughter Deanna came home to the American Dream they thought would forever be out of reach. “It was magical!” said Allen. “This house is more than I could ever have asked for. I never imagined I could have a three-bedroom house for less than I was paying in...

Family forest owners may use consulting foresters or state extension foresters for advice on the technical details of land management, but many owners shy away from thinking about how best to pass their forest on to the next generation. Poor estate planning – or no planning at all – can result in a...

The American brand of agriculture is surging in popularity worldwide. The last four years represent the strongest in history for agricultural trade, with U.S. agricultural exports exceeding $478 billion. This international success is critical to achieving one of USDA’s core missions – fostering...

The soil in Marlboro County, S.C. is known to be fertile, and legend has it that the land was once so productive it was sold by the pound instead of the acre. In this agricultural oasis, brothers Oliver and Martin Smith are continuing the farming tradition that has been in their family for three...

Recently, USDA announced that U.S. agricultural exports for fiscal year 2013 finished at another record level, continuing the strongest five-year period for such exports in our nation’s history. Much of this success is due to small businesses, which Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack noted are the...

Do they like pecan pie in Turkey? If they don’t now, they will soon if Randy Hudson has anything to say about it. Hudson, his wife Mary Jo and their family operate Hudson Pecan Company in Ocilla, Ga. Currently, they have their hopes focused on Turkey as a potential new market. This past June, Scott...