President Lincoln

I often wonder if the leaders who came before us recognized the pivotal things they set in motion, the far-reaching impact their actions would have, and how they helped shape America into a land of opportunity. President Lincoln’s legacy and impact is well-known and obvious, but he did so much more...

When President Lincoln established the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) more than 150 years ago, he called it “the People’s Department” because USDA addresses the vital interests of the people. Now, more than ever, it is necessary for USDA to collaborate across federal agencies and into local...

Recently, USDA participated in the White House launch of the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science (CCS) Toolkit. By providing federal employees with information about developing CCS activities, the Toolkit will eventually allow the Federal government to design more programs that ask citizens to...

Over the course of the Administration, we’ve observed many significant anniversaries in the fight for equality across this great nation. We commemorated the 50 th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic I Have a Dream speech. Last year marked the 50 th...

It’s never too early to start cultivating a “green thumb,” and a People’s Garden in Reno, Nev. is doing just that. Employees of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently created a new People’s Garden at their office in partnership with One World...

What began as a small sail-making shop in 19 th century New York City has evolved into the modern realization of one family’s American Dream—a family-owned and –operated small business whose product has been a part of some of the most iconic images in our nation’s history. Alexander Annin’s sail...

What’s the buzz going on in Princeton, Ill.? A food fest for our pollinator friends, that’s what. This is a People’s Garden designed specifically for pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. The idea came to Ellen Starr, area biologist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation...

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 the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. During the month of April we have taken a closer look at USDA’s Groundbreaking Research for a Revitalized Rural America...

This article was originally posted on ServiceNation.org. Read the original here . As Secretary of Agriculture, I take USDA’s nickname of the “People’s Department”—first coined by President Abraham Lincoln—to heart. Over the past five years, we have worked hard to build upon our tradition of service...

Over 250 people gathered at the Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, New Hampshire last week to celebrate USDA’s 150 th Anniversary on a hot, humid summer day. The hosts – Carole Soule and Bruce Dawson graciously opened their farm as the perfect location for this event. After driving up a narrow road, we...