USDA Blog

It is the goal of every USDA Rural Development program to help improve the economy and the quality of life in rural communities across this country – but with some projects, the impact of agency investment is not always obvious in the early stages. Once in a while, however; you have one that creates...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: You don’t have to go to Hawaii to get a taste of the islands. In fact the students at Mount Lebanon Elementary School in Pendleton, S.C. were cooking up what can only be described as a paradise for the taste buds in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for...

Last week, I was honored to travel home to Delaware to address the importance of the President’s National Export Initiative (NEI). As a proud former agriculture secretary for this great state, I know well that for thousands of Delawareans, agriculture is not only a livelihood, but also a way of life...

The views are breathtaking in what’s known as the “driftless area” in the upper Midwest, which encompasses parts of southeast Minnesota, southwest Wisconsin, northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois. This unique area was bypassed by retreating glaciers during the end of the last Ice Age several...

South Dakota banks, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and others took part in a one day workshop held in Chamberlain, South Dakota on May 12, 2011. Attendees were given the opportunity to learn more about the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and SBA and USDA programs and their...

Cross-posted from FEMA's Blog For weeks, we have been monitoring the potential for significant flooding in Louisiana, along with the other states currently being impacted by the Mississippi River flooding and historic water levels. And similar to their actions to mitigate the impacts of flooding in...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: It was off to the Sunshine State for our team of judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids contest where they joined students at Orlando’s Liberty Middle School. The competition to date has been intense as kids cooked up some delectable dishes...

Fresno State University students, from left, Caitlin Guest, Aki Dionisopoulos and Amanda Jo Bettencourt received scholarship assistance from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) on May 5 in Fresno, California. “Since 2005 we have been proud to work with Fresno State to create a program that...

Tammye Trevino, the Administrator of USDA Rural Development’s Housing and Community Facilities programs, participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a renovation and expansion project for Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, Minn. on May 11. The $21 million expansion will result in improved...

Once a prominent phenomenon in southern Indiana, Bedford just experienced the first re-planting of American chestnut trees on the Hoosier National Forest in partnership with Purdue University and the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Research Station.