USDA Blog

USDA has a long history of investing in and supporting our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The 19 HBCUs established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, along with the two HBCU land-grant universities established in the original 1862 legislation – University of the...

Every February, the APHIS community celebrates Black History Month and honors the many and varied contributions of African Americans to U.S. history. This year’s Black History Month theme is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.” This feature, a personal narrative by APHIS...

Deceptively delicate and fragile in appearance, the Eurasian watermilfoil forms thick mats in shallow areas of a lake, quickly growing and spreading to block sunlight, killing off native aquatic plants that fish and other underwater species rely on for food and shelter.

Every 36 seconds, a person dies from heart disease in the United States. Heart disease is the leading cause of the death in America, and in 2017, Black Americans were 20 percent more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites. Several medical conditions and lifestyle choices...

February is Black History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the hard-fought achievements, sacrifices, and contributions made by Black Americans to every aspect of our country’s diverse cultural heritage, and particularly to the agricultural industry. It’s also a time for us to honor the Black...

On the cold January night following her swearing in earlier in the day as the first woman vice president of the United States, Kamala D. Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff stood before the Lincoln Memorial. The stoic face of Lincoln looked eastward, past some of the signposts of our history in...

Every farmer needs adequate water for their crops. In some U.S. regions, farmers must rely on irrigation to have enough water for their crops. The 2017 Census of Agriculture reports farms with some form of irrigation accounted for 54% of the total value of crop sales (PDF, 121 KB). With water being...

If you’re one of the millions of people who will receive the delicious gift of strawberries on Valentine’s Day, you can thank scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) as well as your sweetheart.

Good customer experience starts at the very first interaction with a customer, which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently officially launched its AskUSDA Contact Center program to support inquiries via web, phone, chat, or email. AskUSDA serves as the one “front door” to help deliver a...

Like many of us, I spent most my life thinking of vaccinations as an item to check off the list at a routine doctor’s visit or as preparation for an international trip. I never imagined that someday every adult in the United States might need access to a critical, life-saving vaccine all at once...