research and science

In 2018, food insecurity returned to the pre-recession level of 11.1 percent, last observed in 2007. It is down from 11.8 percent in 2017 and a high of 14.9 percent in 2011. USDA’s Economic Research Service recently released its Household Food Security in the United States in 2018 on the incidence and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households. In 2018, 14.3 million households had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members because of a lack of financial or other resources.

On October 1, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) celebrated our tenth anniversary. Ten years ago, we replaced the former Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service when Congress established NIFA through the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-246, enacted June 18, 2008, also known as the 2008 Farm Bill). As USDA’s extramural research funding agency, NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and Extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.

North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ slogan “Got To Be NC!” is a promotional branding tool allowing consumers to better understand where their food or products are produced.

Strolling down the aisles of most toy departments, parents are likely to see more diverse options such as a brown-faced doll holding her microscope and African-American action figures in engineering sets. Many toy manufacturers have removed the stigma of “traditional gender roles” and created science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) toys with diverse physical features to encourage all children to see themselves in these roles. USDA strives to make these same improvements in the agriculture sector. It’s National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week and we’re celebrating the student support our science agencies provide every day to create a research workforce more reflective of our society.

Oregon farmers and ranchers produce more than 230 types of agriculture products every year. Many of Oregon’s top commodities are seasonal and holiday favorites. The 2017 Census of Agriculture data provide a key for enjoying these quality products in the coming months.

The digital divide between population centers and rural America is a fact of life. For some, it’s simply a lack of cell phone coverage; for others, it signals a lack of education for their children.

What better time to get back to healthful eating than right now? As summer ends and before the holiday season begins, it’s a good time to take account of your goals and get to know your nutrient recommendations. Have you often wondered how to relate the nutrients listed on food labels to your personal nutrient recommendations?

A major war was fought in 2014-2015, with more than 200 battlefields and millions casualties in the United States alone. You may not have seen much of it on the news, but there’s a good chance your wallet felt it.

You’re about to sit down to a nice meal with a freshly cooked chicken breast. You have your dishes in the dishwasher and you’ve finished wiping down your surfaces. You’re done in your kitchen, right? Wrong! Whenever you cook raw meat or poultry, make sure you clean and THEN sanitize not just your surfaces but also the kitchen sink. Wiping or rinsing these areas is not enough to kill any bacteria that may have spread around your kitchen while you were preparing your food. Here’s your foolproof plan to leave your kitchen spotless and eliminate the germs you can’t see.

Even before Lewis and Clark explored the Northern Plains in 1804 and 1805, agriculture was very prevalent in the area that later became North Dakota – and it’s even more so today. The 2017 Census of Agriculture showed that farms and ranches occupy 39.3 million acres of land in North Dakota, which is an amazing 89 percent of the total land in the state.