USDA Blog

Another impeccable line-up of speakers, led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, has been announced for the 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Titled “Today’s Strategies & Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” the Forum will be held February 24-25, 2011, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va...

Earlier this month, I joined colleagues from several USDA agencies in Knoxville, Tennessee to discuss biomass production and renewable energy opportunities with producers. The event was sponsored by the Farm Foundation.

In mid-October, USDA’s Under Secretaries for Natural Resources & Environment, Rural Development, and Farm & Foreign Agriculture Services launched a major new Wood-to-Energy Initiative that seeks to build a forest restoration economy by integrating wood-to-energy activities within the larger forest...

Cross-posted from the White House blog. Our country needs a strong, vibrant rural economy. Advanced biofuel production will help create it. Not only will biofuel production from non-food sources create new jobs and new streams of farm income, it will improve environmental quality and reduce our...

I went to an exciting open house earlier this month at the Chaput Family Farms in North Troy, Vermont showcasing how dairy farmers can convert manure into operating capital. The event featured the newly installed (August 2010) anaerobic digester, manufactured by a California firm. Approximately 150...

USDA Rural Development and the Farm Service Agency held a Forum on Expanding the U.S. Biofuels Market on October 15 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. I participated in this important Forum, which sought input from local biofuels producers and stakeholders on the USDA’s interim plan on how...

Helene’s Hilltop Orchard, LLC, a family destination and small business in Merrill, Wis., was recently selected as a recipient of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Renewable Energy for America Program Grant. A $19,750 grant will be used to help lower the energy costs of running their...

Harry Baumes, Acting Director of USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, says a report that surveyed corn growers in 2005 and ethanol plants in 2008 indicates the net energy gain from converting corn to ethanol is improving in efficiency. Titled “ 2008 Energy Balance for the Corn-Ethanol...

By Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary I recently spoke at the BIG TEN conference in Minneapolis. The BIG TEN is a USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) sponsored event focused on improving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) performance at the state and local level. Participants are from...

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. By Joe Reilly, Associate Administrator, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service I grew up on a small farm near...