USDA Blog

For basketball great Ralph Sampson, farming is his new game of choice. The new and beginning farmer is looking to resurrect his family’s farm and spur new economic growth on the ancestral land.

As the majestic California Condor soars high in the western skies, the largest bird in North America inspires those who knows its near-tragic history. On the verge of extinction in the 1980s, this resilient avian managed to survive. However, it recently faced a new threat to its existence – highly...

Imagine investigators navigating city streets, collecting clues on a hidden health threat from the city’s furry inhabitants. Norway rats ( Rattus norvegicus) living in New York City are helping to uncover the secrets of zoonotic diseases – illnesses that move between animals and humans. This is...

Wolves have an intrinsic value among Ho-Chunk people. The Nation is dedicated to ensuring that wolves remain on the landscape to preserve their role in Ho-Chunk culture for future generations.

APHIS' National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) recently received the 2010 Colorado Governor’s Award for High-Impact Research for its development of the GonaCon TM Immunocontraceptive Vaccine (GonaCon). The award was one of four given to Colorado-based labs for their cutting-edge research with...

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is launching a website to provide members of the public with information about its user fee programs. The public can access the website at www.aphis.usda.gov/userfees.

When summertime begins to transition to autumn in northern Wisconsin, towards the end of August and early September, Native Americans wait with anticipation for the Wild Rice Moon, the sign it is harvest time for the grain of such cultural importance to local tribes.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and several other U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies had staff at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis last week to share agricultural information with 50,000 enthusiastic FFA members, aged 12-21, and their families.

A trip to your local plant nursery or florist is a lot like taking a trip around the world. You can find anything from boxwood from England, to roses from Colombia, to tulip bulbs from the Netherlands—the list goes on and on! Just as a myriad of plants, seeds and cut flowers come to us from around...

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. Has the weather and grain prices been on your mind lately? With the release of the August Crop Production report just...