USDA Blog

Ed. Note: Building on the President’s commitment to address issues important to rural Americans, Administration officials are visiting state fairs all summer. See a map of where we've been so far, and hear from SBA Deputy Administrator Johns about her recent visit to the Indian State Fair: Having...

Secretary Tom Vilsack’s sunny office overlooking the National Mall set the perfect background this morning for Elisabeth Hagen’s first moments as USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. While her husband, Dr. Daniel Gabbay, proudly held the Bible on which she was sworn in, Dr. Elisabeth Hagen was...

The final USDA Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families event, a food sculpture contest, was held August 19, at the Whitten Patio, in the USDA National Office in Washington, D.C. There were five USDA Agency teams competing. USDA Rural Development took first place! We had a great team that planned and...

One of our Nation's most pressing health challenges today is obesity with one in three children in America either overweight or obese. Low-income individuals are particularly at-risk. That’s why First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move! The campaign mobilizes the combined resources of the...

Michigan has lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs over the last few years, so it’s always nice to celebrate an occasion when we add jobs to this sector. Earlier this week, USDA Rural Development State Director for Michigan James J. Turner announced two guaranteed loans totaling $7,785,000...