NRCS

If ever he wondered if his family had made the right choice by restoring a wetland at their Delaware farm, Matt Spong laid that question to rest with the help of a duck.

“It felt a little buzzy,” said Lily Meritt, 7, a Daisy Girl Scout from Montgomery County, Maryland. She watched hungry mosquitoes through a plexiglass container as a USDA research scientist talked about pests that love to bug people. Lily and other D.C.-area Girl Scouts visited USDA headquarters to...

Financing is a challenge for business start-ups, and it is especially true for small farms. Sarah Longstreth, owner of Good Stead Farm, made her agriculture career goal a reality with some help from USDA.

The Roaring Lion Fire was first noticed on Sunday, July 31, 2016, near Hamilton, Montana. Hamilton is located in Ravalli County and is situated on the eastern fringe of the Bitterroot-Selway Wilderness. The fire was caused by a campfire started by teenage campers. The campfire was not completely...

When Cindy Ayers-Elliott, Ph.D., left her career as a CEO and investment banker to become a Mississippi farmer, the last challenge she expected was freezing cold weather – especially snow and freezing temperatures.

During National Ag Week, we pause to celebrate the many farmers, ranchers and foresters working hard to grow the food, fuel and fiber that sustain each and every one of us. Mark Anson is one such farmer. Meet Anson, and learn how he’s used soil health practices such as no-till and cover crops to...

All communities depend on clean water and that supply of clean water depends on the actions of members in the community and outside of it. The small city of Kutztown lies within the Saucony Creek watershed in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The watershed is mostly agricultural, dotted with small family...

In early December, I gathered with a group of neighbors in a Puerto Rican community to watch work begin on a USDA project to protect a nearby bridge. Minute-by-minute, the sound of rumbling equipment grew louder as the excavators emerged from behind houses, rolled along the debris-covered horizon...

Last year, the United States lost 2 million acres of land in active crop production. As the global population grows towards a projected 9.8 billion people by 2050, so too does demand for the food, fuel and fiber grown in America. The result? American farmers are looking for sustainable ways to...

What if, before you purchased a hat or sweater, you knew the wool used to make it came from sheep raised on a ranch managed to improve soil health and increase soil carbon?