USDA Blog

This Memorial Day weekend, I hope all Americans will take a moment to honor the service of those who have lost their lives defending our nation. America is a beacon of freedom and democracy today, in no small part because of those who throughout history stood in defense of our values and principles...

He is a quantitative and scientific force behind the nation’s largest conservation program. Armed with two doctoral degrees, Skip Hyberg is an economist and a scientist who has linked both of those worlds together to more efficiently target the Farm Service Agency’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP...

This week, Americans across our nation will gather around Thanksgiving tables with family and friends. Every year at this time, I am reminded how blessed we are to have a strong, vibrant rural America which provides so much for each of us, every day. Rural America provides our families with a safe...

Today, on Teacher Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to say “thank you” to America’s educators. In particular, I’d like to send a brief message of thanks to our teachers working in small towns and rural communities across the United States. A quality education is imperative to the lives of...

Like many national forests, Washington’s Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is home to visiting hikers, nature and recreation enthusiasts, fishers, and bird watchers.

Hello, my name is Dr. Pauline Nol. I’m a veterinary epidemiologist for USDA APHIS. As a veterinarian and a researcher, I’ve worked in the wildlife health field since 1999, starting my career at the United States Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. I joined APHIS’s...

How do you turn biting, stinging, pantry raiding, picnic ruining pests into pollinating, irrigating, aerating, fertilizing, ecosystem balancing helpers? … By educating as many people as possible about the role of bugs in the environment. One of the responsibilities of the U.S. Forest Service is to...

Construction has begun on Laraway’s new home. Looking at this hundred-year-old dairy barn jacked up in the air on the occasion of last month’s ground-breaking, it occurred to me that this labor of renovation and rejuvenation foreshadows what happens to the at-risk kids who come to Laraway Youth and...

My name is Luana Xiong. I am 14 years old and part of Merced County 4-H in California. I have been in 4-H for five years. Some of the projects I do in 4-H include photography and arts and crafts, but the one part of 4-H that I absolutely love is science.

Written by Ed Curlett, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Are Japanese beetles eating your roses? Ever hear of the Mediterranean fruit fly? Is the Emerald Ash Borer infesting your backyard tree? All of these insects are plant pests from another part of the world, and they can harm you, your...