Michael Scuse

Last week, I was honored to lead USDA’s first-ever agricultural trade mission to Vietnam, which is quickly becoming one of the United State’s largest markets for agricultural exports. While there, I met with government and agricultural officials, witnessed trade relationships developing between U.S...

For the past week, it has been my privilege to lead USDA’s first-ever agricultural trade mission to a country with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies–Vietnam. I began my trip in Hanoi, where I met with government and agricultural officials and visited some of the city’s most historical and...

This past week, I had the chance to sit down with about 20 business leaders in central Illinois to hear their views on ways we can improve the nation’s economy, especially from the agriculture industry perspective. The meeting was part of a series of outreach efforts across the country this summer...

It wasn’t supposed to happen. There wasn’t supposed to be an agriculture curriculum. There wasn’t supposed to be an instructor. And there definitely wasn’t any money to send seven African-American students from one of the smallest and lowest income towns in Texas to Washington, D.C., to speak with...

The devastation in Joplin is unbelievable, heartbreaking and hard to describe. I have never seen anything like it and hope to never again. The twister tore a path a mile wide and six miles long through the main part of town. It impacted hundreds of businesses and destroyed over 2,000 homes. More...

The state of Mississippi, recently hit with back-to-back disasters in the forms of record-intensity tornadoes in the eastern portion of the state and devastating floods in the Mississippi River Delta, was visited by two USDA under secretaries on Thursday. USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development...

The levee along the Mississippi River was busy with activity on Thursday, May 19. USDA Under Secretaries for Rural Development, Dallas Tonsager, and the Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Service, Michael Scuse along with Rural Development Louisiana State Director Clarence W...

Last week, I was honored to travel home to Delaware to address the importance of the President’s National Export Initiative (NEI). As a proud former agriculture secretary for this great state, I know well that for thousands of Delawareans, agriculture is not only a livelihood, but also a way of life...

The Calvert, Texas Independent School District senior class of 2011 will pack their bags this month for a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture thanks to the Falls County Farm Service Agency and a generous sponsorship by a local bank. “Words will never be able to...

This is the third in a series of three blogs affiliated with USDA’s Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission, which was led by Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse. While leading this week’s Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission to Indonesia, I’ve been...