USDA Blog

As our nation’s farm families gather this Thanksgiving to count their many blessings and reflect on this year’s harvest, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) urges producers to ensure their farm or ranch is also counted in the 2012 Census of Agriculture. The Census is a crucial...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. When you sit down to your Thanksgiving feast and reflect on the bounty on your table, you might want to say a quiet “thank...

The Four Star Dairy is a family affair. Roger Erickson grew up on this Clark County, Wis. farm, which his grandfather started and now he and his family work together to manage the conservation-minded, 14-employee operation, 700 cows, as well as corn, soybean, oat and hay production.

The feedback about last year’s webinar series was overwhelmingly positive! That’s why USDA’s People's Garden Initiative is bringing it back. We’re asked all the time for a specific recipe for starting and sustaining a People’s Garden. And each of this year’s webinars focus on ingredients that can be...

On a fall morning in Mrs. Jones’ sixth-grade class in Tracy, Minn., students are learning how to make pumpkin pudding. Instead of using a can opener to pry the lid off cans of pumpkin, a real pumpkin is being used. And not just any real pumpkin, a pumpkin that came straight from a local garden and...

Years passed, but no one was able to get near the stray dog roaming the 90 acres of the Ely Shoshone Tribal District in Nevada. Tribal members had tried many times to corral her, to no avail. Then, in 2011, the stray became pregnant, giving birth to a litter under a walkway at the tribe’s clinic...

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we want to share valuable information about Federal relief efforts and resources to help those impacted in the Northeast. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is coordinating with States and partner organizations to provide disaster nutrition assistance to...

As we celebrate the autumn season and as holidays approach, many of us will also be thinking of family gatherings and special menus which may include the colorful and healthy cranberry. Knowing some of the plant’s history may just help us enjoy this fruit even more. Vaccinium oxycoccos L. or Small...

Imagine looking out the window and seeing an enormous black cloud heading straight for your home. This frightening experience was a common one for people who lived through the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.

This week, Americans across our nation will gather around Thanksgiving tables with family and friends. Every year at this time, I am reminded how blessed we are to have a strong, vibrant rural America which provides so much for each of us, every day. Rural America provides our families with a safe...