USDA Blog

As part of our continuing education efforts, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is pleased to announce the next installment of our webinar series. This episode is designed for people interested in applying for grants offered through local state departments of agriculture for our...

A historic gathering of former Secretaries of Agriculture will occur at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Secretary Tom Vilsack will moderate a plenary panel of former Secretaries of Agriculture invited to speak on “Agriculture: Visions of the Future.” At least six of the last eight Secretaries...

A 63-foot Sierra white fir from Stanislaus National Forest arrived Monday morning and is now gracing the west front lawn of the Capitol.

A budding new crop of People’s Garden volunteers recently blossomed. Nearly 60 USDA employees received certificates at a ceremony, marking their completion of the department’s 2011 Executive Master Gardener (EMG) training program. Class of 2011 graduates were welcomed as “new-bees” during a sweet...

Mary McGee’s late father could neither read nor write. But he knew how to farm. He could farm so well, his daughter says, he had a PhD in making things grow. He taught her how to transform idle soil into lush farmland and to take care of animals.

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. Stainless steel’s all the rage in gourmet kitchen design, but its appeal could soon extend well beyond the kitchen to the...

Students from Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., found out the fastest way to find a forest within their urban community: walk outside.

Mallory McDevitt of Wapakoneta, Ohio, is a real go-getter. This 18-year-old high school senior has been an Earth Team Volunteer with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) since she was 14. She also serves as the Wapakoneta FFA Chapter Vice President.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Wheat Street Gardens, a unique urban garden, located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, Ga., not far from the famous civil rights historical Ebenezer and Wheat Street churches. The garden was once a housing project that was demolished and many of the former...

Both of us grew up in small towns, Kathleen in Greenfield, MA and Bob in Ancram, NY. From our own experiences, we understand the challenges and the importance of a strong rural economy. We recently visited Brevard, a town of about 6,000 people in North Carolina’s Transylvania County. While there we...