USDA Blog

One of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) most noteworthy programs, the Cochran Fellowship Program (CFP), is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The CFP provides U.S.-based agricultural training opportunities for senior and mid-level specialists and administrators from public and...

This year, USDA has been encouraging folks to try local food production and consumption. The People’s Garden has been an excellent example in connecting people to where their food comes from. And many of you followed suit, planting gardens of your own.

I had a chance this morning to testify before the House Agriculture Committee about USDA’s commitment to energy security for America. I shared the spotlight for this hearing with Under Secretary Tonsager, and together we impressed on our colleagues on the Hill the great challenges we have before us...

We all come together for festivals, fun and food as the growing season comes to an end. This is the opening of the season of celebrating holidays bringing family and friends together. Our challenge is know how enjoy and deal with an abundance of food throughout out celebrations.

It was great to have Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager on hand for our combined event with Bassett Healthcare on Tuesday. The event highlighted the 60th anniversary of our Telecommunications Program and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Amy, a breast cancer survivor, spoke to the crowd about the...

While in China, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will participate in the meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Hangzhou on Thursday. He will be joined by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. The JCCT serves as an...

While it was a bye week for the Georgia Bulldogs football there was plenty crunching of heads as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan held a roundtable discussion at the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Science. Deputy Secretary Merrigan traveled to Georgia...

Last week it was my privilege as State Director of USDA Rural Development to travel across Alaska with Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager. His trip is a follow-up to one that was taken by Secretary Vilsack to Western Alaska in August, as part of the Rural Tour. I was privileged to also participate in...

I just returned from Indianapolis and my first National FFA Convention. Having missed the first 82 of them, I figured it was about time to see what these folks were up to. I grew up in a part of northern New Jersey where there was no active FFA presence and where 4-H existed to help the wealthier...

On Saturday, I arrived in the Philippines for the first-ever USDA trade mission in Southeast Asia. The Philippines is a key market in the region for U.S. agricultural exports, with sales of over $1.77 billion in 2008, a record high, while U.S. agricultural imports from the Philippines reached $ 1.24...