USDA Blog

A study by researchers at the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory shows that the lowest rates of deforestation and forest carbon emissions occur in global regions with the highest rates of forest product output. Counter intuitively global regions with the highest rates of deforestation...

In less than a year, residents in the city of Hawesville and Hancock County, Kentucky., will have a brand new library that will be twice as large as the existing one. The new 10,000 square foot facility will provide additional space for computers with Internet access, public meeting rooms and...

What better way to celebrate Earth Day last month than to recognize projects that are environmentally friendly and to educate our elementary school youths. That's exactly what we did in northwest Missouri. The Missouri Rural Development (RD) staff partnered with the Senior Citizens Nursing Home...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: Who says a delicious classic can’t also make a healthful lunch? On Tuesday, students at Van Buren Middle School in Kettering, Ohio served judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition their Chicken Alfredo with a Twist, an updated take on...

On a spring day in Chesterfield, South Carolina, a family works in unison to manage cattle, sheep and goats. This is a daily routine and a way of life for Paxton Pegues, his wife Olivia, and their four children Rachel, Marcellus, Spencer, and Lanier.

Travelers on Interstate 94 in central Minnesota are greeted by a smiling face whenever they pass through the city of Freeport. For years, the city has been known for the smiley face painted on its water tower. Unfortunately, due to the tower’s age, it no longer meets the needs of the community of...

On Monday, I had the honor of hosting Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Bayu Krisnamurthi at my 1,700-acre corn, soybean, and wheat farm in Smyrna, Delaware. This opportunity is a direct result of my visit last month to Jakarta where I led 18 U.S. companies on an Agribusiness Trade and...

USDA Rural Development in Nebraska celebrated with the City of Pawnee City last month in honor of Earth Day, the recent delivery of a multi-bin recycling trailer. City officials, school children and those instrumental to the project attended. The ribbon was cut signifying the community dedication to...

Summer is just around the corner with most schools and school meal programs closing down for summer break. Without school meals to depend on, too many kids don’t have access to a nutritious meal. The Summer Food Service Program provides kids in low-income areas a free nutritious meal or snack each...

The USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program is working to make a difference in Central America. Guatemala has one of the highest rates of stunting in the world due to chronic malnutrition. More than 90 percent of families live on less than $2 a day and as a result, the majority of children are...