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This is the nineteenth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. When consumers see the word "organic" on a product package or label, they have expectations about what is inside the package. The National Organic Program (NOP), part of USDA...

Breaking into a new market can be a challenge for a business – especially if that market is half a world away, with a different culture and language. But there is help available. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has offices across the globe that assist American agricultural businesses with...

From record droughts in Kansas to deadly wildfires in California, the United States is feeling the effects of climate change. These same conditions have a dire impact across the developing world, especially for poor, rural smallholder farmers whose very lives are threatened every time the rains...

Over the past decade, the production and market share of organic agriculture has increased globally, with significant growth in South and Central America. In 2008, the Inter-American Commission for Organic Agriculture (ICOA) was founded to support organic agriculture in the Americas and facilitate...

Fall is harvest time and our rural communities are bustling with activity. For American soybean farmers the days start in the early dawn, and they stay until the last light is gone, tending fields that seem to stretch to the end of the world. But success for them relies on more than just growing a...

On a recent trip to Africa, I spent time in Ethiopia witnessing how USDA’s work there is helping the country’s agricultural sector to grow and thrive, especially for women farmers. I visited a small-scale, woman-owned dairy farm near the town of Mojo, about 50 miles south of Addis Ababa, to see how...

Standing next to her healthy oxen, Grace Opono explains how new conservation techniques have doubled her maize yield over just two seasons. She is also earning a second income by providing tilling services to neighbors with her oxen. She tells me she can now afford to pay the school fees for her...

U.S. agricultural exports are a bright spot in our economy - the past five years represent the strongest in history for agricultural trade. We export everything from soybeans and dairy to specialty products and fresh produce, all adding up to revenue and jobs back home in the United States. On a...

Last week, we celebrated another victory for the global organic community – the announcement of an organic equivalency agreement between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea. We are thrilled with the outcome! Beginning July 1, 2014, processed organic products certified in Korea or in the U.S. may be...

What does a pomegranate need to do to get from an orchard in California to a dining table in Canada? The pomegranate doesn’t have to do anything, but U.S. growers must prepare the ground for their products in more ways than one. It takes knowledge and resources to bring U.S. food and agricultural...