USDA Blog

Late last month Mississippi USDA Rural Development State Director Trina George attended the Kilmichael Clinic opening ceremony. The event celebrated the clinic’s completion and provided opportunities to tour the new facility. There was a great turnout and everyone was thrilled to see the new...

Fabian Garcia, a U.S. Forest Service employee for eight years, intimately understands the connection between nature and nurture. As a young Latino growing up in an agricultural community in central California, Garcia’s world revolved around the outdoors. When he, his parents and three siblings were...

Just outside Lexington, Ky., you can find Peaceful Valley Farm, the longtime Kiser family home. Joe Kiser bought the 162-acre farm in 1965. The farm has thrived since then—even during the current severe drought—thanks to Kiser’s conservation-minded land management. Kiser operated the farm, which...

Mineral Community Hospital in Superior, Montana received an $190,000 Woody Biomass Utilization Grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The new Mineral Hospital Biomass Generator will use woody material such as beetle-killed trees removed from forests to help prevent wildfires. The material will then be...

Based on data since 1995, U.S. corn and soybean harvests are proceeding at a record pace. By September 30, 2012, more than one-half (54%) of the corn had been harvested, nearly three times the five-year average of 20%. During the preceding 17 years, the record amount of U.S. corn harvested by the...

When Dave Nowak of the U.S. Forest Service and Scott Maco of Davey Tree Expert Company began collaborating on the creation of a suite of urban forest analysis tools called i-Tree, they imagined that users would be mostly city foresters from the United States. Six years later, the U.S. Forest Service...

An innovative Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)-funded program in Pakistan is not only improving local diets, but is creating jobs, training workers and helping create a thriving aquaculture industry with U.S. soy.

Over its 15-year history, wood door manufacturer Pacific Pine has seen its share of good times and tough times. In 2007, the company was running strong with solid sales and nearly 70 employees. To sustain the momentum and continue to grow, they decided to take on short-term debt for large machinery...

Sometimes it can take a while to turn a good idea into a successful venture. At USDA, we understand the value of research, and by providing resources to get things started at the local level, we often see amazing results that have positive impact for farmers, agribusinesses and consumers across the...

North Beach Elementary School in Miami Beach, Florida was recently recognized by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service as a HealthierUS School Challenge award winner for their outstanding school meal service. While there, we learned about the school’s wellness program which contributes significantly to...