USDA Blog

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is working with the Nigerian government to help the country ensure its exported and imported food stays safe from farm to fork. The training is part of FAS capacity-building efforts that support the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of 2000, which aims...

On Wednesday, August 29 th at 2pm EDT, USDA’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will host the next presentation in its “Together We Can” webinar series to introduce partners to the resources and programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Wednesday’s webinar...

Urban forests are a vital part of our nation’s cities – they clean the air we breathe, capture pollution and stormwater and beautify our neighborhoods. Urban trees save cities millions of dollars in energy costs every year just from shade alone. U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell has called urban...

Earlier this month I joined six other USDA staff members in an American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED (automated external defibrillator) training session in Bangor, Maine. In addition, 8 other staff was trained at a different facility in Portland, Maine in July. In total 15 staff members were provided...

Visit www.usda.gov/drought for the latest information regarding USDA’s Drought Disaster response and assistance. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor, dated August 21, reflects a persistence of drought across the majority of the nation. Overall conterminous U.S. drought coverage stands at 63%, up...

As drought continues across America, President Obama and I continue doing all we can to help producers. In addition to the actions we’ve already taken, we will continue to call on Congress to pass a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that gives USDA more tools to help, while providing more certainty for our...

The People’s Garden Initiative and Keep America Beautiful are asking Americans to join us in supporting local ecosystems by planting species native to their area this fall. The first ever National Planting Day will take place on Saturday, September 8 and will continue with activities happening...

Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Rural Development Judith Canales recently had the opportunity to visit Missouri’s new Barack Obama Elementary School located in a suburb of St. Louis. The school district has started the Barack Obama Elementary Healthy Food Pilot Project where the objective is to...

Entrepreneur and horticulturalist Steve Jones was on a Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) agricultural trade mission (ATM) to Madagascar in 2006 when he first began thinking about how modern plant propagation techniques might help struggling East African farmers boost their productivity and...

With Nevada USDA Rural Development State Director Sarah Adler as his side-kick, Agriculture Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager hit the trail earlier this month in Nevada, kicking off a major job-creating clean energy announcement, meeting with business owners and talking to ranchers severely challenged...