Ranchers

My first three weeks interning for USDA have been extremely interesting and enjoyable. A native of Austin, Texas, I grew up spending most weekends on my grandparents’ farm, the same farm where we currently raise Texas Longhorn cattle. Instead of returning to Austin after the baseball season, I came...

The ‘ Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ College Tour continued this week with a visit to Iowa State University, where I had the opportunity to speak with students, faculty, and members of the community about USDA’s efforts to promote local and regional food systems.

Secretary Vilsack spoke this morning at the Future Farmers of America State Presidents' meeting. He had the opportunity to meet with FFA's national and state leaders, and took a few minutes to congratulate them on their election to leadership posts in an organization of more than 500,000 active...

Welcome to the United States Department of Agriculture’s new blog, a place where visitors can get the latest news on the work we are doing. Whether we are providing nutrition assistance, maintaining an appropriate safety net for America’s farmers and ranchers, mitigating effects of climate change...

During yesterday’s Facebook chat with Secretary Vilsack, it became obvious that there is a lot of interest in supporting beginning farmers and ranchers. USDA knows beginning farmers face unique challenges, such as high startup costs and a lack of available land for purchase or rent. These issues are...