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On a recent trip to Wisconsin, USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager had an opportunity to revisit a specialty cheese plant in Montfort, Wis. that he had helped to establish about ten years ago. In 2002, the Wisconsin Farmers Union hired a cheesemaker and took steps to begin the...

Cross posted from The Huffington Post: Rural Americans face many unique challenges - and every day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides assistance to help grow American agriculture and increase opportunity for rural communities. Unfortunately, 90 percent of America's persistent poverty...

From the start of the SuperTracker project, meeting the needs of our nearly two million users has been our top priority. We pride ourselves on our ability to quickly respond to feedback on everything from tweaks to the site’s layout and design to suggestions for new features—such as the recently...

It is amazing what successful partnerships we have developed through our USDA People’s Garden initiative in the Food & Nutrition Service’s Midwest Region. It’s been four years now since we began working with the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest Program to create our garden. The garden is...

MyPlate is using the power of Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to make it easier for consumers to find simple science-based and practical guidance in many forms to help consumers eat healthier and live healthier. These social media platforms reach broad audiences and can now direct users to the...

‘Valley Girl’ and ‘Celebrity’ are just two of the sought-after tomato varieties sold at Elvis d’Agrella’s farmer’s market stand in the summer. And now his weekly customers can purchase those tomatoes well into the winter, because he and his wife, Pat, have constructed a seasonal high tunnel at their...

An opportunity to reach a new market is a big deal for any company, but this is especially true when it comes to our nation’s 23 million small businesses. In their search to reach new markets, they not only compete against each other they also compete with larger establishments. To help them meet...

Last summer I witnessed an amazing group of partners – the majority women, coincidentally - making a big difference in the lives of those who suffer from hunger. It all started with USDA’s effort to expand the availability of wireless technology at farmers markets not currently accepting SNAP...

We have a tremendously productive agriculture sector in the United States. In my lifetime, agriculture production has tripled. In 1950, a dairy cow produced about 5,300 pounds of milk each year; today, it’s 22,000 pounds per year.

The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) and its National Strategic Partners work together to deliver coordinated, consumer-friendly messages that promote the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to a broad audience. Recent messages disseminated included Make half your plate fruits...