Energy

There is an excitement at USDA with respect to bioenergy and biofuels and much is going on – a BIOFRENZY if you will – not in a sense of chaos – but rather many challenges and much to do. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will be...

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. By Greg Smith, National Program Leader, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

By Jonathan Adelstein, Administrator-USDA Rural Utilities Service If you lived in a rural area 75 years ago, you probably didn’t have electricity. Water for livestock, cooking, cleaning and bathing had to be hand pumped from a well. Farmers risked milk spoilage in the summer, and people often got...

At a Town Hall meeting in Burlington, Vermont, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of Vermont Renewable Energy Company for a USDA Rural Development Business and Industry Loan Guarantee for a $10 million loan given by Community National Bank. The funds will be used to provide essential...

It is difficult for most people to comprehend the distances and diversity we face here in California. For example: the distance from Smith River, in the Northwest corner of California, to Winterhaven, in the Southeast corner, is the same distance as it is from Chicago to Washington, D.C.

Earlier this week I participated in an Obama Administration Clean Energy Economy Forum in Arlington, Virginia with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewables Cathy Zoi, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly...

As you walk through the facilities at headquarters in Washington and in the field, it quickly becomes apparent that a new attitude has taken hold at USDA: A drive to use energy more efficiently. These efforts were noted by President Obama and the White House Council on Environmental Quality recently...

Sietsma Farms in central Michigan sends more than a million turkeys a year to the dinner table. That’s a lot of Thanksgiving feasts.

Today we are formally launching a new enterprise in USDA science, a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NIFA will be a real agent of transformation in how we do science at USDA, not just in this new agency, but across the board. As I reflect on this pivotal moment for USDA science, I...