Farming

Accurate crop mapping is a crucial process to informing reliable crop production estimates, addressing climate change, and developing strategies for sustainable agriculture.

Secretary Vilsack proclaimed August 6-12, 2023, as National Farmers Market Week to celebrate the growth and impact of farmers markets and their vital role in America’s food supply chain. This year, USDA is especially excited to celebrate the week and showcase our new efforts to support small to mid-sized farmers and regional food systems, including farmers markets. This past spring USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) announced the creation of new USDA Regional Food Business Centers and Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure programs that are providing resources for new and expanded local market opportunities and furthering our work to strengthen the food system.

In June 2013, Secretary Vilsack outlined a vision for agricultural solutions to environmental challenges, which included creating the Regional Climate Hubs. In 2014, the USDA Climate Hubs were established in to serve as regional centers of climate change information and outreach to reduce risks. The Climate Hubs enhance USDA capacity to deliver science-based knowledge and practical information to support climate-informed decision making on farms, ranches, and forests.

There are many different approaches and practices when it comes to farming, but one thing is constant - to run your farm as a business, you need to be able to sell your product. To sell their product, a farmer or rancher needs to be visible to buyers and buyers need to have an easy way to reach producers.

Uncle Jerry’s Farm, LLC.’s humble beginnings stretch back to 2015, when a health-conscious consumer, Debora Coleman, decided to devote a small patch of her land on the outskirts of Jackson, Mississippi, to the growing shiitake mushrooms. She shared the yield with friends and family members. Consequently, each year the demand for such grew. This spurred her interest in efficient production and scientific approaches to small-scale farming.

The last few years have seen the U.S. dairy industry weather some storms, including an unprecedented global pandemic and the related supply chain disruptions, which forced producers to dump millions of gallons of milk that no longer had a market. Through it all, USDA continues to support the industry. For this year’s National Dairy Month, we’d like to highlight two major ongoing USDA programs that focus on the dairy industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proud to support successful partnerships that pave the way for meaningful outreach and access to services for underserved communities. In Hawaii, USDA is helping multiple partners come together to provide language-appropriate outreach to Thai, Lao, Ilocano, Chinese, and other immigrant farmers. Funding is made through USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, also known as the 2501 Program.

Renee McDonald, a first-generation sheep producer in Lee County Georgia, spends many nights monitoring newborn ewes. In the last lambing season at Sheepy Acres Farm, eight out of ten of her pregnant ewes gave birth to twins. The lambing season holds many memories, but it also presents challenges, including twin births that require double the attention.

It was a great start to National Small Business Month at the Southeast States “Path to Prosperity" event in Albany, Georgia on May 2. Path to Prosperity is a regional business and economic development workshop series that features experts from the financial industry, federal government, community partners, and stakeholders.

Every year, thousands of farmers, ranchers, and businesses grow and produce organic products – and all these operations are audited by qualified organic inspectors. Organic inspectors visit fields, pastures, or processing plants to conduct annual reviews where they meet with farmers and processors, ask questions, and observe processes. Annual inspections by qualified inspectors strengthen consumer trust in the USDA organic seal and ensure families are getting what they paid for when they choose to buy organic.