2011

Arctic weather in the Midwest may mean an earlier start for ice fishing this year.  “Early ice fishing can be some of the best fishing for walleye, bigger game fish, and for a lot of species,” says Steve Avelallemant, fisheries supervisor for northern Wisconsin with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Whether anglers start early in the season or later, they need to take the same steps in winter that they do in the summer to prevent spreading viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS).  VHS is a virus that can infect more than two dozen fish species and can cause bleeding and bulging eyes.  VHS has been found in all the Great Lakes and some inland waterways.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

The two most direct ways to get involved in the Summer Food Service Program in your community are to either become a sponsor or a feeding site.  What’s the difference you may ask?  Being a sponsor means acting as the organizer for Summer Food Service sites.  Sponsors manage, train, supervise and monitor all food service activities and locations where children can eat.  They also maintain paperwork and submit claims for reimbursement.

The wait is over! The U.S. Forest Service unveiled its proposed Forest Planning Rule today. This proposed rule is the outcome of the most participatory planning rule development process in Forest Service history. Based on your feedback gathered online and during more than 40 public meetings hosted across the nation, we think we’ve crafted a proposed rule that reflects the public and Tribal input received so far, our expertise, current science, and regulatory requirements.  The proposed rule would establish a new national framework to develop land management plans that protect water and wildlife and promote vibrant communities. Now, we are seeking your comments on the proposed rule to help us develop a final rule that will have broad support and endure over time.

Katie Bowens and her family had been renting an apartment for five years. They wanted a chance to have a home of their own. The Norfolk Housing Agency (NHA) directed Katie to USDA Rural Development in an on-going partnership effort.

The City of Norfolk, acting through NHA, notified the local USDA Rural Development office of a Community Revitalization program they were working on.  They thought Katie would be a perfect fit. The City had received funding from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) in 2007 and 2008. These grants, written and administered by the Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District (NENEDD), are available to demolish dilapidated properties within the city limits. They also allow funds to be allocated to low-to-moderate income families in the form of construction subsidies and down payment assistance.

Despite below-freezing temperatures and high-wind advisories, more than 50 residents of Hardinsburg and Breckinridge County, Kentucky, turned out recently to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new public library. The crowd included local high school students, city and county officials, library board trustees and members and local law enforcement.

Last week, Secretary Vilsack traveled to Dallas, Texas, home of Superbowl XLV, to meet with officials from the public and private sectors to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining a commitment to enacting healthy solutions to childhood obesity under Fuel Up to Play 60 .This partnership represents an unprecedented pledge to our kids to help get them moving toward physical fitness and health, a key element of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative.

On January 24, 2011, a wintry day in Chicago, 20,000 high school students in the Chicago Public Schools were treated to a prize-winning, delicious and healthy school lunch created by their fellow students.  Topping the menu was Afro-Caribe Plancha (Cuban turkey, black beans, provolone cheese and marinated cucumbers baked in a whole grain pizza crust), along with Soup of Sunshine (yellow squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, apples, bananas and peanut butter with cilantro and spices), and Caribbean Crunch Salad (julienned oranges, cucumber apple, cilantro, orange juice and black pepper).

Volunteers are helping to turn an old industrial area of Muncie, Indiana into a wetland where wildlife thrive and people can connect with the outdoors.

Since the John M. Craddock Wetland Nature Preserve Team started its work on the site in 2009, wildlife has moved in, plants are flourishing and insects are buzzing. Now, the buzz in Indiana is about a national award recently presented to the volunteers.

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) will kick off its 50^th anniversary celebration with a special session at the Agricultural Outlook Forum this month.  The session will highlight ERS’ role as a resource for policymakers and for those advancing debates in the areas of food economics, rural development and natural resources, and markets and trade. In addition, the expert panel will share their thoughts on what questions will shape ERS research in the years to come. 

Each summer, 22.3 million students are at risk of going hungry when the school year ends and school lunches are no longer available.  For many children, school meals are the only complete and nutritious meals they eat, and in the summer they go without.  The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) can help to fill the summer meal gap for low-income children.  Faith-based, community and private non-profit organizations can make a difference in the lives of hungry children by serving meals with SFSP, a federally funded program administered by states that reimburses organizations for meals served to children during the summer.