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When pest detections led China to suspend exports of logs from Virginia and South Carolina last spring, USDA began work to minimize the impact of this trade disruption on one of those states’ most important industries. We began by negotiating with China to establish science-based standards to allow...

This is Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Awareness Week. Before the Memorial Day holiday and summer travel season begin, we take this time to remind everyone to be careful not to spread the EAB unintentionally. EAB is one of many “Hungry Pests” that can cause significant damage to our country’s natural...

With an estimated 40 million people moving each May, it’s no wonder this “very merry month” is recognized as National Moving Month. If you plan to move this year, please don’t make a move until you check for the gypsy moth. This invasive pest has altered the landscape in 19 States and the District...

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is celebrating the agency’s 40 th anniversary today. While APHIS’ program activities and responsibilities have grown and evolved since the Agency’s founding in 1972, the mission remains the same: serving the public by protecting the health...

Did you know USDA brings Thanksgiving dinner to our troops serving abroad ? Did you know that USDA is responsible for fabric testing , including creating flame-retardant finishes used on products like firefighters’ uniforms and military clothing and children’s pajamas? Did you know 1 in 5 Americans...

The mission of USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services is to provide expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts and allow people and wildlife to coexist. During my recent trip to South Florida I toured Homestead Airbase and learned firsthand about an extremely valuable service provided by APHIS-WS that most folks...

This year I am encouraging everyone to make the Cinco de Mayo celebration a “Citrus de Mayo” affair by celebrating citrus’ role in the holiday’s food and culture. My goal is to raise awareness of the serious threat that diseases like citrus greening pose to United States citrus. From the limes and...

Alabama conservationists are closer to regenerating a population of the threatened eastern indigo snake in the Conecuh National Forest through the release of numerous juvenile snakes on the forest. The indigo snake is North America’s largest native snake, and plays an important ecological role in...

On April 24, USDA confirmed the nation’s 4 th case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in an animal that was sampled for the disease at a rendering facility in central California. This animal was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food...

Imagining our communities without trees is hard to fathom. Unfortunately, there is an insect that threatens the trees we love – the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). It’s an invasive insect that feeds on certain species of hardwood trees, eventually killing them. Since its discovery in the United...