beginning ranchers

One year ago this week, I was honored to be sworn in as Deputy Secretary of USDA. Along with Secretary Vilsack, I have had the privilege to lead a remarkable team here at USDA as we have worked to implement the 2014 Farm Bill, create a one-stop-shop for new farmers and ranchers seeking access to...

Growing up on a farm in Camilla, Ga., I developed a passion for agriculture early. Being a farmer’s daughter helped me understand the challenges farmers and ranchers face over time and the need for common-sense policies and programs to create and expand opportunities for the farmers of the future...

The Google+ Hangout with D/S Harden today has been temporarily postponed -- stay tuned. In February 2014, President Obama signed the new Farm Bill into law. But what does that mean for you as a new farmer or rancher? What’s new about this Farm Bill and what programs can you use? What questions...

From the White House Champions of Change blog: In the field of agriculture, we have a very important question to ask ourselves: who will the next generation of farmers and ranchers be? For more than three decades, the share of farms operated by beginning farmers has been in decline. Beginning farms...

This post is part of a Microloan Success feature series on the USDA blog. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. USDA’s Microloan program allows beginning, small and mid-sized farmers to access up to $35,000 in loans using a simplified...

Not everyone goes to work every day knowing that they will be inspired by the people they meet—I’m very fortunate in that way. From the federal agencies that I oversee to the farmers and ranchers I visit with, I am truly inspired by their dedication to serving the American people and their...

This post is part of a Microloan Success feature series on the USDA blog. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. It is often stated that it is hard to start a farm and become a farmer. You do not have to tell that to Anderson Brothers...

This post is part of a Microloan Success feature series on the USDA blog. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. For Malachi Duncan, life as a farmer is anything but boring. At age 92, he’s going strong and ready to do more. “I was out...

This post is part of a Microloan Success feature series on the USDA blog. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. For David Hoff, farming was in his blood. It had been 14 years since he worked on his family’s South Dakota farm. He went...

For over a century, my hometown of Chicago has been a cultural, financial, and agricultural hub. And as a hub, it has a long history of supporting innovation and opportunity. From the first cattle drives came the great Chicago Stockyards that supplied meat to the nation. From the early trading of...