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For 20 years, my agency, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), has managed the USDA Farmers Market. It’s quite a milestone, and I’m thrilled to celebrate it this week by hosting the first night farmers market in Washington, DC! There will be live music, food trucks, and an array of farmers...

According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, there are over five million head of sheep and lambs in the United States, and over 2.6 million head of goats. A growing trend is producing these animals using grass fed production systems, especially for small to mid-sized producers. In response to the...

This morning, Secretary Tom Vilsack and I kicked off the 20 th season of the USDA Farmers Market. It was quite a celebration, complete with balloons, ribbon cutting and bell ringing! The market underwent a major redesign and expansion this year to make room for twice as many vendors as we’ve had in...

Are you in the market for data covering locally and regionally produced agricultural products? You are not alone. Consumer demand for local and regional food products continues to soar, with retail sales at an estimated $6.1 billion in 2012. Thanks to support from the 2014 Farm Bill, USDA Market...

Spring is upon us and many local farmers markets are opening with displays of brilliant and vibrant colors. The fresh air has more people talking about and buying local foods. In fact, data from the USDA Economic Research Service suggests that farmers across the country sold an estimated $6.1...

March is National Nutrition Month, and local food plays an important role in providing Americans with fresh, healthy fuel for their bodies. From farmers to financiers to schools and hospitals, there is a lot of passion for sharing good food by supporting strong local and regional food systems. I...

As teams of agriculturalists across America celebrated National Agricultural Day on March 18, a group of volunteers and professionals arrived at Miller Grove Middle School in Lithonia, Georgia. They were there to give a hands-on outdoor lesson on how to build, plant and maintain a school garden to a...

Above the sounds of whirring drills and nails being hammered into wood planks, squeals of excitement and oohs and ahhs emanated from Yerington Elementary School students as they filed past the hoop house being built on their way to the lunchroom. March is National Nutrition Month, so it only seems...

It all started with one truck—one truck and the idea that bringing fresh, healthy foods into Philly communities was just a question of coordination. For Haile Johnston and his wife, Tatiana Garcia-Granados, founding Common Market was the logical solution to solve the food access issues they saw in...

Jaclyn Moyer's got grit. Somewhere between the 12 hour days Jaclyn spends on her 10 acre farm in Northern California plus her off-farm baking job, she somehow found time to pen a great piece in Salon about her experiences as a new farmer. She describes how she and her partner are struggling to...