USDA 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...

As many as 28 students from the Pajaro Valley High School recently planted wetland trees, shrubs and grasses as part of a Pajaro River Watershed project near Watsonville, California. For this project, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is working with the Resource Conservation District of...

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...

A partnership between USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative and Keep America Beautiful (KAB) was a natural fit. KAB, the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action network, has been engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their communities for over 50 years, through a...

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...

Look up Wayne County, Michigan, home to Detroit, in USDA’s Food Environment Atlas and it is obvious that local residents have some significant challenges in accessing healthful food. An alarmingly high number of households that lack a car in Wayne County are located further than one mile from the...

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.

It was a pleasure to learn about Dr. D’Aun Carrell’s career-long commitment to children’s nutrition. Even more so to discover her involvement with Chefs Move to Schools, part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s www.LetsMove.gov campaign to help solve the problem of childhood obesity. The initiative was a...

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...