USDA Blog

USDA’s 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Feb. 23-24, will present 25 breakout sessions, including Agricultural Financial Markets and Investment focusing on patterns of financial investment in U.S. agricultural assets, changes in the types of lenders serving the agriculture sector, and the economics...

When it comes to supporting the American agricultural economy and its communities, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is all in. Here at AMS, we have several grant programs that producers and other organizations can utilize to help increase the competitiveness of their businesses.

If you’re looking to shatter any preconceived notions you might have about rural Minnesota, take a trip to Elgin and spend some time with Dr. Julee Kingsley and Dr. Colleen Urbain.

As USDA celebrates 150 years of serving American agriculture and rural communities, it is important to remember the enormous contribution of the Cooperative Extension Service, a three-way partnership between USDA and our state and county partners that forms a nationwide network of expertise. These...

While fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a relatively limited problem, any amount of waste or abuse is too much. As I wrote back in December, we are taking more aggressive steps to root out fraud and abuse as part of this administration’s Campaign to Cut Waste and to...

Volunteers for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) come from all walks of life. In Tennessee, we’ve been lucky enough to have U.S. Army soldiers, who were injured while serving our nation, volunteer at the Clarksville NRCS Field Office. Clarksville is only eight miles from Fort...

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. Understanding the causes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural landscapes is truly a multi-scale challenge...

In 2010, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture developed a plan to help local growers find new opportunities to bring their fresh, healthy food to consumers and markets within the state. They partnered with Rutgers University’s Food Innovation Center and the New Jersey Department of Family and...

In its January 2012 issue, Smithsonian is featuring a look at the world famous site where, on May 18, 1980, a mountain exploded with devastating force. Located 96 miles south of Seattle and managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument provides outstanding...

A ribbon cutting was held last month, for the first prototype from the University of Kentucky’s (UK) Houseboat to Energy Efficient Residences (HBEER) initiative in an established residential area near downtown Monticello, Kentucky. The HBEER initiative has created green jobs and is bringing back 575...