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It was all hands on deck at the 3 rd Annual Faith, Families & Schools Conference held in Cromwell, Connecticut. I was extremely pleased to see many of my state colleagues working together in such an important effort. I participated as the keynote speaker and was introduced by George A. Coleman...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio. It’s hard to imagine average Americans of the 1950s and ‘60s walking around carrying bottles of water or worrying about...

Born in the first half of the 20 th century, rural electric cooperatives drove the monumental effort to bring electricity to remote areas of the country where investor-owned utilities could not make a profit. Owned by their members and not-for-profit organizations, rural electric cooperatives have...

On October 4, fellow USDA Food and Nutrition Service staffer Julie Mikkelson and I attended the Minnesota Vikings annual Taste of the NFL bash at Minneapolis’ Mall of America. This enormously popular charity event funds feeding efforts operated by Second Harvest Heartland, the Upper Midwest’s...

The USDA’s Food Safety Discovery Zone, in cooperation with FedStrive, made its latest stop at the Health and Human Services’ FreshFarm Market on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 307 market-goers were provided with information on how to prevent foodborne illnesses using the Be...

Most people do not realize that more than half the water in the United States comes from watersheds managed on forests. Used in homes, on ranches, in industry and for energy production, water resources in forests provide important services to people, as well as habitat for a wide variety of aquatic...

“Fuel, fuel; Up, Up” and “Let’s Play 60!” were the cheers of the day at Dealey Montessori Vanguard and International Academy in Dallas on September 21. School cheerleaders and Rowdy, the Dallas Cowboys mascot, led the school-wide pep rally to kick off the school’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

Every time we close out a fiscal year and report on the outcomes our grants have supported, I am always astounded by the vast scope of work accomplished by the thousands of grantees who have received awards from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). During our annual awards ceremony...

USDA science agencies recently joined the National Research Council, Farm Foundation, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Organic Farming Research Foundation in a symposium to discuss implementing the recommendations of the National Research Council report, “ Toward Sustainable...

A new, yet traditional cedar Plankhouse on the southern Oregon coast provided a culturally appropriate setting for American Indian Tribal leaders to gather with USDA Rural Development last week. At the meeting, Tribes from across the state provided feedback to help improve the delivery of USDA...