USDA Blog

Employees of USDA-Agriculture Research Service in Urbana, Illinois teamed up with the University of Illinois to establish a unique Peoples Garden this year. The garden was named ‘Three Sisters’ because we grew variations of the three main agricultural crops of some Native Americans: maize, beans and...

More than 7,000 rural residents in a remote area of Arizona will soon be connected to the world at large thanks to Recovery Act support from USDA Rural Development.

For more than a year now, the Slow Food on Campus members at the California Culinary Academy have proudly partnered with students from San Francisco’s James Lick Middle School. The staff teamed with the school, which participates in the Chefs Move to Schools program, because of their diverse student...

USDA Rural Development State Director Jasper Schneider, and staff, recently toured seven rural communities in southwestern North Dakota as part of USDA’s ongoing commitment to rural communities. Schneider participated in conversations with community leaders to identify ways Rural Development...

The Franklin Community Volunteer Fire Department, Incorporated in Toast, North Carolina had a problem. The department had outgrown its current facility and was “land locked” with no expansion room.

Last night, I stopped by the Colbert Report to talk about the critical role the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plays in promoting healthy eating. I am familiar with Stephen’s unfortunate bear phobia, so Smokey Bear was asked to stay back at headquarters. The topics of hunger and nutrition...

Adams County, PA - Chris Swartz has learned that keeping up with changes in your markets and being quick to respond is essential for her 13-year old diversified, small farm business to survive. It has to be when the competition is constantly changing.

Fifteen hardy New Englanders stood in the cold November rain recently to watch the demolition of one of the largest dams ever to be removed in Massachusetts. The crowd was made up of representatives from a diverse group of public and private partners that have been working together toward this day...

Construction has begun on Laraway’s new home. Looking at this hundred-year-old dairy barn jacked up in the air on the occasion of last month’s ground-breaking, it occurred to me that this labor of renovation and rejuvenation foreshadows what happens to the at-risk kids who come to Laraway Youth and...

La Agencia de Servicio Agrícola (“Farm Service Agency” o FSA, por sus siglas en inglés) del USDA le recuerda a los productores que tienen hasta el cierre de negocio del jueves, 9 de diciembre, para solicitar asistencia por pérdidas del año 2009 bajo el Programa de Asistencia para Cultivos (“Crop...