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Cross posted from the White House blog: Twenty business leaders from Mexico, Missouri, joined me at the Mid America Brick plant recently for the first White House Business Council Roundtable meeting in Missouri. President Obama asked me, along with other senior Administration officials, to...

The Obama Administration made historic investments in rural America in FY 2010, paving the way for increased economic growth and productivity over the long term. More than 33,700 rural jobs were created and saved as a result of assistance Rural Development provided to more than 500 rural businesses...

This morning I had the opportunity to start my day in Big Sky Country where I was invited by Senator Jon Tester to participate in the Small Business Opportunity Workshop hosted at Montana State University. We have a full house here having reached capacity at 150 attendees with another 80 RSVPs still...

It’s no secret that Americans in rural areas sometimes struggle to get the health care they need. Whether it’s a farmer losing his health insurance because he has no good choices or a mom putting off treatment because it’s too expensive, or hard to find a doctor nearby, rural Americans too often go...

As President Obama challenges Americans to win the future, we at USDA are implementing ways to do so by helping tribal communities across the country out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competition. Starting in rural America, but more specifically within tribal communities, we see an...

Today marks the end of February, and National African American History Month, which has given us an opportunity to reflect on the value of the contributions made to our great nation by African Americans, and in particular, African American farmers and ranchers. To celebrate here in Washington, the...

UPDATE 3/12/2014: USDA is committed to ensuring the integrity and impartiality of the claims process. A neutral, third party has been tasked with overseeing all aspects of the process, including notifications, to make certain that it is fair and equitable. As we move forward, we’re focused on making...

“The safest bet in America is American agriculture!” That’s the way Secretary Tom Vilsack led off his remarks to the 2,000 farmers, ranchers, agriculture officials and industry leaders in attendance at today’s Agricultural Outlook Forum in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

I recently began the Know your Farmer, Know Your Food College tour, and one of the locations I visited was a farmer’s market in North Carolina. Many of the regionally and locally produced products we see at farmer’s markets have a helping hand from USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grant program...

Earlier this month, acting USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Doug O’Brien heard one testimonial after another from a variety of people who thanked the federal government for providing funding and services to a portion of western North Dakota that was hard hit by outmigration two decades ago...