USDA Blog

The Internet is running out of it's 4.3 billion Internet addresses! No fear, for IPv6 is here! IPv6 is a new version of internet addressing that will replace the current IPv4 version. The new IPv6 format will allow for 340 undecillion addresses compared to 4.3 billion addresses under IPv4. The last...

Baseball fans thrill at the thought of hearing a bat crack. But seeing an actual bat shatter is not one of those thrills. That’s because this seemingly harmless wood breaking can be dangerous for the players and fans and is the reason that the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Lab has worked for...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: Once again this year, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell is encouraging kids and their families to reconnect with nature and have fun by participating in the 4 th annual National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day), on Saturday, June 11. This FREE event is designed...

Mississippians know the strength of longleaf pines. These native trees braved Hurricane Katrina 48 percent better than their loblolly cousins. Even so, the ancient longleaf pine forests of the South are a threatened ecosystem.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: Today marks day two in the first ever National Summer Food Service Program Week, a weeklong awareness campaign to promote USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and other programs nationwide to feed low income kids. Lots of things are happening around the...

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. New research featured in the April/May 2011 issue of Science Findings, a monthly publication of the Forest Service’s...

June is homeownership month -- an opportunity for us to highlight the important role housing plays in creating jobs, maintaining viable rural communities and contributing to the economy. Since the start of the current fiscal year, which began last October 1, USDA Rural Development has financed...

Working to protect American agriculture is no small task. On any given day the people at the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) work vigorously to protect livestock, fruits, vegetables and other commodities from pests and diseases...

USDA South Dakota Rural Development State Director Elsie Meeks took a tour of the flood control preparations underway in Pierre and Ft. Pierre, last Thursday. A number of homes are threatened, including those financed by government agencies, including USDA. Residents are preparing for the worst as...