USDA Blog

When most people think about what USDA exports to countries all over the world, food is the first thing that comes to mind. But did you know that the United States exported nearly $7 billion in forestry products in 2010? These exports allow for the beauty and sustainability of U.S. forests to be...

As part of my recent trip to Arizona, I had the opportunity to meet with Arizona cotton producers, Arizona Department of Agriculture Director Don Butler, and APHIS personnel at the Pink Bollworm Rearing Facility in Phoenix. I was absolutely impressed with the importance and quality of the work being...

In December of 2009 an apartment building owned by Rodney and Betty Hestekin sustained major damage in a fire. The building had been financed through USDA Rural Development’s Multi-Family Housing program. All 18 tenants living in the building were displaced. Rodney and Betty immediately sprang into...

Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager was in Marvell, Arkansas, on Friday to meet with over 150 people that have been affected by recent disasters. Tonsager discussed the assistance that USDA can provide to help residents, farmers, ranchers and businesses that have been...

The levee along the Mississippi River was busy with activity on Thursday, May 19. USDA Under Secretaries for Rural Development, Dallas Tonsager, and the Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Service, Michael Scuse along with Rural Development Louisiana State Director Clarence W...

On Friday, May 20, thousands of people throughout the United States will celebrate Endangered Species Day. It is an opportunity to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and the everyday actions people can take to help protect our nation’s natural resources. Each year, wildlife...

Food Banks across the country help millions of families in need keep their kitchen cabinets from going empty. Much of the food given out comes from donations; however USDA’s Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, helps food banks stretch their donations by making USDA commodity foods...

On April 27, I was honored to accompany President Shelley of the Navajo Nation for the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) exercise held in Window Rock. The NVS exercise provides countermeasures – supplies, equipment, medicine, vaccines and response support services – that states and Tribes need to...

The deadline for the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE), is quickly approaching. Producers who have not signed up for either program have until June 1 to do so. “Producers must be aware of these deadlines and take action,” USDA Farm Service...

Innovation was the buzz word during the 2011 USDA Science and Technology Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) Board Meeting. The PVPO, part of the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Science and Technology Program, gives legal intellectual property rights, similar to patents, to breeders of new...