USDA Blog

Today, I joined China’s Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to construct a classical Chinese garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. This garden will illustrate the commitment our two countries have to horticulture, science and the arts...

Before I was sworn in as Secretary of Agriculture, I took time to meet with a handful individuals who held the job before I did. I asked them for advice, and two recent Secretaries mentioned that it was important that I focus on civil rights. As I soon learned for myself, USDA has an unfortunate and...

Secretary Vilsack credited First Lady Michelle Obama for the beautiful weather in Washington, D.C., as the White House hosted students from seven local schools for the Healthy Kids Fair. The First Lady and USDA teamed up with local chefs and nutritionists for cooking demonstration and nutrition...

Living memorials serve as a reminder of fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends—but also of the power of community to reflect, rebuild and renew. Our research suggests that living memorials demonstrate the role of nature in contemporary times not only as...

This afternoon, Secretary Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with elementary school students from Arlington, Virginia visiting the Department of Education for the day. The students had the opportunity to learn about the Secretaries' work, and Secretary Vilsack took some time to read...

American agriculture today is a complex web of producers, processors, and marketers all working to produce a safe and nutritious food supply and serve the needs and wants of consumers here in the U.S. and all across the world. As people have become more interested in what they eat and where their...

Sybill Amelon is trying to repair the damage Bram Stoker did to bats’ public image. A research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Research Station in Columbia, Mo., Amelon has introduced bats to more than 20,000 primary, secondary and college students and teachers. Over the...

Data consumers can now more easily leverage several of the most popular offerings from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS)! To meet the needs of a growing community of data users, including application developers and researchers, ERS has just released seven new APIs (Application Programming...

Being home for the holidays will not be possible this year for many American armed forces. The next best thing may be receiving greetings and gifts of food items. Many foods are safe to mail. However, you must have the name and address of a military person stationed overseas. Because of security...

Agriculture and food system development were featured agenda topics at the recent New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, an annual conference sponsored by the Local Government Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Transportation, the Centers for Disease Control and...