USDA Blog

By Bill Menner and Janie Dunning, USDA Rural Development State Directors of Iowa and Missouri Bringing broadband to rural communities is about more than guaranteeing your daughter has 24/7 access to Twitter, or giving your son unlimited opportunities to play video games.

By James Miller, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Earlier today I announced, on behalf of Secretary Tom Vilsack, an opportunity for landowners to enroll environmentally sensitive land into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CRP is administered by the USDA Farm Service...

By Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program The Latino community faces dual challenges when it comes to nutrition since hunger and obesity can often co-exist. Hispanics in the U.S. have higher rates of both food insecurity and obesity. The USDA Food and...

Submitted by: Colleen Callahan, Illinois State Director, USDA Rural Development Question: Why do you go to a hospital? A: To visit someone who is sick B. To get a diagnostic test C. To see a specialist D. To have surgery E. To meet your trainer for your workout F. All of the above

Written by Kayla Harless, People’s Garden Intern Today, Dr. Karen Rane presented a workshop in the People’s Garden about diseases of the flower garden. As a plant pathologist and diagnostician, she provided us with lots of fascinating insight. Dr. David Clement, a fellow plant pathologist, joined...

By Richard A. Machek, Florida State Director, USDA Rural Development I recently returned from a groundbreaking ceremony that was 10 years in the making. Like many of Florida’s rural cities and towns, the City of Marianna has faced years of reduced revenues and a shrinking business district. Looking...

By Amy Maxwell, State Public Affairs Specialist, South Carolina Three People’s Gardens at USDA Service Centers within South Carolina’s Edisto Watershed are encouraging community involvement and are providing fresh produce to those in need.

By Katherine Belcher USDA Kentucky Public Information Coordinator When the Agriculture Department issued a challenge for its employees to establish People’s Gardens at USDA facilities around the world, the staff of the Service Center in West Liberty, Ky., wasted no time in putting one together.

President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative came to Nebraska on July 12, when 200 attendees gathered in Grand Island for a listening session. They were joined by Dave White, Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and senior representatives of the U.S. Departments...

Last month we were proud to announce awards for the Value-Added Producer Grants program. Managed by USDA’s Rural Development, this program has had nearly a decade of success in helping producers capture more value for their agricultural products by producing, processing, or marketing their product...