October 2024

This week, we celebrate National 4-H Week and the incredible impact the organization offers young people around the country. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), we pay special tribute to this observance as the 4-H Youth Development program is headquartered in USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This unique partnership with NIFA, the Cooperative Extension System through land-grant universities and the National 4-H Council empowers young people to lead for a lifetime.

More than 41 million people in the United States speak Spanish at home, and Spanish is the most spoken language after English in the country. Cooperative Extension across the nation recognizes the importance of providing resources in Spanish to better serve Hispanic communities and people.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 to October 15, is a time to celebrate the rich history, cultural diversity, and contributions from Hispanic communities. USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area is home to over 8,000 of the world’s best and brightest minds in agricultural science, data, and innovation. This month, REE is spotlighting several brilliant colleagues who are pioneering change at USDA and within their communities.

As an auditor for USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), I am one of a small group of highly-qualified individuals who audit companies that utilize our programs to back up their marketing claims and add value to their products by verifying their standards or requirements. One of these programs is the USDA Process Verified Program (PVP).

Nearly twenty years ago, all that Dr. Circe Niezen, professor at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR), knew about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was the USDA approval sticker on her luggage for agricultural safety when she traveled from Puerto Rico to the continental United States.