USDA Blog

It can be challenging for veterans to find their voice this time of year. That’s understandable. Within an extraordinary community who once wore, or continues to wear the uniform of our country, and their families who stand strong at home, Veterans Day opens a personal window that profoundly touches...

What’s the psychology behind food waste and what can we do to change our behavior? This interview features insights from Brian Roe, Professor and Faculty Lead at The Ohio State University’s Food Waste Collaborative and Laura Moreno, who received her Ph.D. studying food waste at the University of...

I never thought I could ever work in the U.S. government. One day, when I was applying for my U.S. citizenship at a local Hispanic nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., I saw a flyer about the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) National Internship Program (HNIP). This...

Extreme drought in a rainforest might seem like an oxymoron, but it isn’t. Since early 2018, the southern portion of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, has experienced moderate to extreme drought. This has wide-ranging consequences on drinking...

USDA is proud to share stories of women in agriculture who are leading the industry and helping other women succeed along the way. In this blog, we feature Sandra “Sandy” Watts, USDA Forest Service Region 3 Deputy Regional Forester in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest new Supervisor's Office in Rhinelander, Wisc., was re-engineered with "green" features. The use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding helped complete its restoration. Here students from the USDA Forest Service’s Blackwell Job Corps Center help...

On December 18, USDA Rural Development hosted a Jobs and Economy Roundtable discussion in Livingston, Montana in Park County. About 7,000 people live in Livingston, which has an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. The local economy was once dominated by the railroad and agriculture, but in recent...

Those of us fortunate enough to have quality broadband service in our homes and workplaces know that it opens educational, business and entertainment opportunities that can only be imagined by those still living in a “dial up” world. President Obama believes that all Americans should have access to...

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan recently joined White House Assistant Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass and other USDA officials, staff, and volunteers to help winterize the garden on the White House grounds by establishing tunnels and cover crops.

Last week, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Hench, a single Mom of five whom, thanks to the recovery act, was able to move her kids to a home in a nice development just outside of Carlisle, PA.