NASA

Coming one day to a smartphone or tablet computer near you: An application that helps backyard poultry farmers protect their birds from disease. It might even help make them profitable, if you want. That’s the plan after a team of Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) officials...

I was honored last week to participate in the annual Native American Heritage Month observance at USDA’s Jefferson Auditorium. A near-capacity crowd watched as the Vietnam Era Veterans Intertribal Association presented the colors. That gesture was especially fitting, given this year’s theme of...

Accurately measuring atmospheric gas swirls as they interact with the atmosphere and the ground is a complicated process on this planet — let alone Mars. But this is exactly what U.S. Forest Service scientist Bill Massman will be doing for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program.

The Forest Service recently unveiled a product that helps natural resource managers rapidly detect, identify and respond to unexpected changes in the nation's forests by using web-based tools. The satellite-based monitoring and assessment tool aptly called ForWarn, recognizes and tracks potential...

On January 9, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack put forth USDA’s “ Blueprint for Stronger Service” which focuses on streamlining operations and cutting costs throughout the Department. The “Blueprint for Stronger Service” calls for USDA to close 259 domestic offices, facilities and laboratories, as...

Air carriers, farmers, fuel refiners and government leaders met in Columbus, Ohio, recently to explore the future of aviation fuels made from farm-grown energy crops. Hosted by USDA’s Ohio Rural Development office and the Ohio Aerospace Institute, representatives of the Commercial Aviation...

After a series of weather-related delays, the seven-member crew of Endeavour along with a flag bearing the green 4-H clover has finally blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center.