USDA Blog

USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl Cook was in Phoenix last week and addressed Native American contractors regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as well as the many programs Rural Development has to offer including the additional programs that came with the...

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

I found it very rewarding to see the rural town of Gideon, Missouri utilizing the Recovery Act funds to make their water system safe. The water project is one of the first in the nation to benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds that President Obama signed into law in...

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Steve Richard, President/CEO, SUN Home Health and Hospice and otherstakeholders, for a new hospice center located within the Sunbury Hospital. USDA Rural Development awarded Sun Home Health Services, Inc. $99,500 through...

It was exciting to have Congressman Rick Boucher, 9 th District of Virginia and the Deputy Administrator for USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities programs, Jessica Zufolo join me last week in Hurley, Virginia for an awards ceremony. The event highlighted the funding of three Virginia rural...

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan today kicked of the 36th Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations – the first woman to hold this role and the first time the United States has chaired the Conference in 20 years.

In addition to providing quality jobs, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is improving antiquated infrastructure in rural America. For example, Jonestown, East of Easton on Maryland’s Delmarva Peninsula, is about to receive a long-needed upgrade to its water system.

I had the pleasure of joining USDA Under Secretary Tonsager, Senator Kent Conrad, Senator Byron Dorgan and Congressman Earl Pomeroy in the ground-breaking of a new regional medical center in Jamestown, North Dakota. This project is a direct result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)...

On Thursday Under Secretary for Ru ral Development Dallas Tonsager participated in Trade Talk during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention in Kansas City.

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...