USDA Blog

“We think that fresh air and sunshine are the best health guarantee.” That’s the quote you’ll see after opening a brochure from Pastures A Plenty Farm. Spend an hour with the VanDerPol family and you quickly understand that those words are much more than just a marketing slogan. It’s the family’s...

If your picture of New York City is skyscrapers and neon, consider expanding that image to include vegetable crops – a lot of vegetable crops – growing everywhere from ground level to rooftops.

Shelter dogs that are often rejected are getting a new lease on life. Plus they’re helping wildlife and people! These conservation canines climbed the Jemez Mountains, clambering over rocks, running from smell to smell, to track where rare Jemez salamanders, a species found nowhere else in the world...

“Smart Growth” is a term we hear more and more often. It is the idea that as communities plan for the future, they consider the highest and best use of every resource – land, infrastructure, organizations and people. From housing to transportation to energy to food; community developers and planners...

The second annual South Dakota Local Foods Conference was held recently to continue the dialogue on local foods among producers, consumers, farmer’s markets, retailers, schools and others. The conference provided attendees from across the state two days of breakout sessions, networking, and...

This is one of my favorite times of the year. New and old traditions bring friends and family together to celebrate, cheer for their favorite football teams or just to share a hearty meal and some spirited conversations. As the weather gets cooler, my family gravitates toward comfort foods and...

For centuries, the Mohawk community of the Akwesasne (pronounced AHG - weh - SAUCE – knee) have created traditional basketry from the abundance of ash trees found along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Thousand Islands area in New York. But for the last three years, the trees and the matchless...

Hurricane Sandy brought together an un-tested coalition of animal welfare groups, local governments and federal agencies focusing on one primary goal: Using already established human assistance networks to help states feed pets impacted by the massive storm. A team of animal care experts from the U...

The “Don’t Pack a Pest” campaign went international last month as Jamaica enthusiastically kicked off its own version of the outreach initiative in Montego Bay and Kingston. The Florida-based program warns the public about the risks of bringing undeclared agricultural products—and hitchhiking...

Years passed, but no one was able to get near the stray dog roaming the 90 acres of the Ely Shoshone Tribal District in Nevada. Tribal members had tried many times to corral her, to no avail. Then, in 2011, the stray became pregnant, giving birth to a litter under a walkway at the tribe’s clinic...