USDA Blog

A regional initiative in Southwest Iowa originally intended to train farmers on local-food production has evolved into a rural-urban partnership that touches a poverty-stricken community. I joined USDA Rural Development Acting Deputy Under Secretary Doug O’Brien in Oakland, Iowa, recently to meet...

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 If there is one thing you can count on during the holidays, it is food – and in large quantities! While you may not be...

For the last 32 years, Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI), a non-profit social enterprise, has been dedicated to providing job opportunities for people with disabilities. Founded in 1964 by John DuRand as an Occupational Training Center, MDI transitioned into an Affirmative Business in 1978...

Usually when I submit a post for the Rural Development blog, the subject is an event, such as a closing, ribbon-cutting or groundbreaking ceremony. This entry as a little different – it is a blog about another blog.

Beadle and Spink Enterprise Community (BASEC) just made its 500 th loan and through its revolving loan program has loaned over $16 million dollars to improve the economic and housing climate of part of South Dakota since 1996. BASEC (named after the two counties it serves) has less than a 1 percent...

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 USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Even in a tropical paradise like Hawaii, Christmas just isn’t Christmas to some folks without an evergreen tree decked out...

We have a resource issue across the West, and here in Nevada in particular, that is crossing a number of boundaries in terms of its effects on rural economies, wildlife diversity and forest health. That issue is pinyon-juniper encroachment; which is the rapid growth of pinyon and juniper trees to...

Five months ago, I was offered one of the greatest opportunities of my budding career with USDA, an invitation to join the Office of Advocacy and Outreach as the Interim Lead for the USDA/1890 Program. I eagerly and enthusiastically accepted the challenge, and what an AMAZING experience it has been...

USDA Rural Development South Dakota State Director Elsie Meeks recently awarded the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) Telephone Authority headquartered in Eagle Butte a $37.9 million USDA Telecommunication Infrastructure Loan to complete a total fiber to premises build out. Attending the award...

Hillsboro, a rural Kansas community of just over 2,400 residents is nestled between the North Cottonwood and South Cottonwood Rivers in Marion County. Community leaders recently celebrated a groundbreaking in the frozen soils of central Kansas as the first step in the construction of their new...