nrcs

Farming in a suburban town just 25 miles south of Boston has both benefits and challenges. Those benefits and challenges result from the same thing, lots of neighbors.

Oregon ranchers Dan and Suzy Probert grow cattle and healthy soil. And with the help of Farm Bill programs, they’re protecting the Lightning Creek Ranch from development as well as finding new revenue options like carbon trading markets.

As an aspiring soil conservationist, Luther Thompson II is eager to dig into future career opportunities. Thompson is a rising senior at Alcorn State University, a historically black land-grant university in Lorman, Mississippi. This is his fourth summer as an intern with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS helps America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners conserve the nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources.

Overlooking the southernmost shores of Vermont’s Lake Champlain lies Lucas Dairy Farm. Two years ago, first-generation farmer Jon Lucas moved his family and 150 milking cows and young stock to Orwell, Vermont, to lease the hillside land.

On June 30, 2013, the Yarnell Hill Fire – the deadliest U.S. wildfire in 80 years – broke out in Arizona’s Yavapai County, killing 19 Granite Mountain Hot Shot firefighters. Since then, local residents and land managers have taken steps to honor the memory of the fallen by caring for the forests that remain.

Each month, USDA shares stories of women in agriculture who are leading the industry and helping other women succeed along the way. This month, we hear from Susan Stein, director of the USDA National Agroforestry Center.

If ever he wondered if his family had made the right choice by restoring a wetland at their Delaware farm, Matt Spong laid that question to rest with the help of a duck.

“It felt a little buzzy,” said Lily Meritt, 7, a Daisy Girl Scout from Montgomery County, Maryland. She watched hungry mosquitoes through a plexiglass container as a USDA research scientist talked about pests that love to bug people. Lily and other D.C.-area Girl Scouts visited USDA headquarters to meet women scientists, learn about their work, and discover career possibilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Financing is a challenge for business start-ups, and it is especially true for small farms. Sarah Longstreth, owner of Good Stead Farm, made her agriculture career goal a reality with some help from USDA.

The Roaring Lion Fire was first noticed on Sunday, July 31, 2016, near Hamilton, Montana. Hamilton is located in Ravalli County and is situated on the eastern fringe of the Bitterroot-Selway Wilderness. The fire was caused by a campfire started by teenage campers. The campfire was not completely extinguished. Windy conditions likely fanned the remaining embers.