Maryland

I wake up every day excited to work for an agency that gives rural American families three intangible gifts through homeownership: hope, surprise and joy. They experience a sense of hope when they find there are affordable options to become homeowners. They surprise themselves by doing the...

Today the Environmental Protection Agency released its new Clean Water Rule to help provide greater clarity on certain aspects of the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act has successfully reversed the effects of harmful pollution in America's waters for over 40 years. However, recent Supreme Court...

Last week, I visited with local communities in northern New Mexico. Many of these communities rely on irrigation ditches, called acequias, as their primary water source in an otherwise arid region. These are ditches that were used by their parents, and their grandparents, and their great-grand...

On Wednesday, Secretary Vilsack signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding with the Council of 1890 Universities , reaffirming USDA’s partnership with all 19 1890’s Universities across the country. Through this memorandum the USDA is able to put forth a collaborative effort to encourage more...

It’s a fact most of us learned in grammar school. More than seventy percent of the earth’s surface is water. On this 45th Earth Day, I can’t help but be proud to recognize the work that USDA Rural Development is doing to improve water quality and availability in Rural America. Today, USDA is...

Every parent’s wish is for their children to thrive and prosper. Yet, too many of our nation’s families still live in poverty, despite doing their best to make ends meet. Rural families and children have additional challenges as schools, healthcare services, healthy food choices, jobs, and other...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio . When we think about space missions, we tend to look toward the stars to planets like Mars where robotic rovers roam...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. When Hyun Lillehoj began her career as a scientist some 30 years ago, she never imagined that someday she’d receive a “thank...

When Dr. Conrad Estrada became an APHIS Foreign Service Officer (FSO), his goal was to get out of his comfort zone, “not only in the geographic sense, but also on a personal and professional level.” Six years later, the veterinarian admits he got both wishes. Trained in Peru, Estrada earned his...

We all benefit from creative partnership. It’s especially true when some very savvy people leverage USDA Food and Nutrition Service programs to fight hunger and improve nutrition. Text2BHealthy is one such example, where the University of Maryland-led program uses popular technology to inspire...