Blog

As of December 2022, United States and Mexico are celebrating 200 years of bilateral relations. Over these two hundred years, our nations have developed rich diplomatic and cultural ties where agriculture and trade considerations feature a prominent role.

These days, many Virginia families are finding the search for reasonably priced housing to be a puzzle about as easy to solve as the infamous Rubik’s Cube. When they try to match up the four sides of location, cost, terms and financing, the “colors” just don’t align.

Last month, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the results of the 2021 Certified Organic Survey. The data showed a continued upward trend in the organic industry since 2008, when organic data collection first began.

Prior to becoming the Food and Nutrition Service Administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I spent many years with USDA working in the child nutrition space. I quickly became passionate about my work, recognizing that school meals are critical to children’s success in school and their overall health and well-being. It motivated me then and even more now in my role as Administrator. In this role, I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure children get nutritious meals on a consistent basis, so they can do better in school and support the development of healthy eating habits which sets them up for success!

It may be winter, but it is still possible to access fresh, locally-grown produce. How? With aquaponics. Americans and people living around the world can grow crops year-round in a soilless hydroponic environment regardless of their regions’ climate or season. It also has the added benefit of supplying fresh fish to the local food system.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Mountain Plains Region is in year three of a collaborative partnership with the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to facilitate The Food and Mood Project.

WIC is a powerful public health program, serving nearly half of all babies born in the country. To help keep program costs manageable, Congress requires WIC state agencies to contract with an infant formula manufacturer to provide discounted formula for purchase with WIC benefits. The state agencies solicit bids from manufacturers and award a contract to the one that offers the most cost-effective bid. This process helps save taxpayers an estimated $1.7 billion per year on formula provided through WIC and allow the program to continue to make WIC benefits available to all eligible mothers, infants, and young children.

33.8 million – that’s the number of people in the U.S. who lived in food-insecure households in 2021, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. Fortunately, USDA and leaders like Tambra Raye Stevenson are working to tackle nutrition insecurity – especially in underserved communities.

Wildlife Services (WS) experts are exploring how fladry, a nonlethal tool used to protect cattle, sheep, and other livestock from wolves, can prevent other wildlife damage.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Purdue University have developed a series of training videos that illustrate proper sanitation assessment techniques to evaluate shell egg processing equipment. While the practices in these videos are required in facilities that have USDA grading, they are valuable for any shell egg facility wishing to learn more about good sanitation techniques.