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From a very humble start, National Invasive Species Awareness Week’s Kids’ Day has bloomed into an event featuring an invasive species magician, a 13-year old ‘invasive species hunter’ from Texas, and even Woodsy Owl from the Forest Service.

The event, sponsored by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, will take place on February 26 at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.—a perfect setting to educate kids about the importance of protecting our forests, agriculture and the environment from harmful invasive species.

Twenty-four university students will attend USDA’s 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum Feb. 23-24.  The students are the recipients of corporate and USDA sponsorship aimed at promoting the education of the next generation of agriculturalists.  The Forum titled, “Moving Agriculture Forward,” is USDA’s largest annual event and will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.  “USDA welcomes the next generation to participate in the Forum so they might see opportunities to excel to even greater heights in their careers,” said Secretary Vilsack.

This year, sponsoring corporations and USDA agencies include: CHS, Inc.; Farm Credit; USDA’s Economic Research Service, Agricultural Research Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Imagine living so far away from everyday resources the only way in or out for hundreds of miles is by air.  Most Americans take for granted how easy it is to jump in our cars and go to the store for whatever we want or need.  Not so in rural Alaska.

Gaining a simple, painless way to connect to food, materials, technology and other necessities was the draw for 200 rural leaders and residents, primarily Native, who came from across the state to Anchorage earlier this month. They talked to vendors and meet with Federal and state officials including those from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development at the Rural Small Business Conference hosted by Alaska Village Initiatives (AVI).

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in Georgia receive 2.2 million visitors each year, and their primary activity is use of 850 miles of designated system trails. But it’s not only hikers that take advantage of the recreation opportunities which these trails provide. Cyclists, hunters, anglers, off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and horseback riders all recreate on national forest trails-- and they don’t always see eye-to-eye.

Last week was a momentous one for U.S.-China agricultural relations. In addition to the productive meetings that took place in Washington and Des Moines, I was honored to witness the signing of an agreement between the U.S. soybean industry and Chinese buyers who agreed to purchase more than 8.6 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in the coming year. That’s about $4.3 billion worth of soybeans, or 317 million bushels.

The signing of that purchase agreement represents another very important milestone in the U.S.-China trade relationship, a relationship that continues to grow and flourish – in large part thanks to agricultural trade.  Last fiscal year, for the first time ever, China was the number one market for U.S. food and agricultural exports. And it was also the top market, by far, for U.S. soybeans. In fact, China purchased nearly 60 percent of the U.S. soybeans sold internationally last year.

A historic gathering of former Secretaries of Agriculture will commemorate USDA’s celebration of the Department’s 150th anniversary and founding in 1862.  On February 23 at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will moderate a plenary panel of eight former Secretaries of Agriculture invited to speak on “Agriculture: Visions of the Future” at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.

Travis Forgues is an organic dairy farmer in the town of Alburgh in northwest Vermont, almost at the Canadian border and surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain. Like many of the other dairy farmers in northern Vermont, Travis is a realist. He went to college. He tried city life. But he was born into farming, and that’s how he wanted to raise his own family. So Travis went to his dad and had a talk about organic farming, and he convinced his father, and then many others, to convert their land from conventional agricultural practices to organic. As Travis saw it, organics was a growing niche within American agriculture, and consumer demand for organically produced dairy was taking off. Better still, consumers were willing to pay more for organic products. Today, as a result of Travis’ work, nearly 130 dairy farmers across New England have signed on to the “New England Pastures” organic dairy cooperative for Organic Valley.

Cross posted from the White House blog:

Since the formation of the White House Rural Council in June 2011, we have had a unique opportunity to provide recommendations on how to grow the economy and create jobs in rural America.

The feedback we’re providing to the White House, based on our travels throughout the countryside, has helped us find creative ways to move the country forward without relying on Congress to act because rural Americans can’t wait.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio.

Developing a rapid, inexpensive biosensor to detect salmonella on vegetables; expanding understanding of the antimicrobial properties of nutmeg; finding a non-invasive method to test for glucose levels. 

It was a unique opportunity for Maine leaders to share their thoughts on the challenges and prospects for Maine’s economy at a Rural Roundtable held earlier this month, at the Rural Development State Office in Bangor. The Roundtable, facilitated by USDA Rural Development Maine State Director Virginia Manuel, brought the participants together with Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager and Maine Congressman Michael Michaud for a candid discussion.