USDA Blog

Following a morning plenary session featuring eight former Secretaries of Agriculture and Secretary Vilsack’s keynote speech, the USDA’s annual Outlook Forum will begin the programs breakout sessions featuring more than 80 speakers. The sessions will focus on a broad range of topical issues related...

This afternoon, USDA Rural Development in South Dakota convened a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) meeting in Sioux Falls. Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager addressed the group of 25 stakeholders. Tonsager shared with the group that over the next couple of months, USDA Rural...

Pat Longmire has owned a grocery store in Spring Grove, Minn., for 22 years. He knows customers want fresh produce, quality meats and weekly deals that save a buck here and there. But he wasn’t sure how customers would react after he put glass doors on the coolers in the store. Longmire didn’t have...

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to facilitate a meeting with many rural energy stakeholders that USDA Rural Development works closely with here in Iowa. Joining me in the discussion were representatives from the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, MidAmerican...

Over the past three years, USDA has taken important steps to help meet President Obama’s goal of building a secure energy future for our nation. We’ve helped back the science, research and planning to expand production of biofuels and other bio-based products. We’ve supported farmers and...

As Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development, it is my responsibility to oversee the administration of many of the renewable energy programs included in the 2008 Farm Bill. For example, today we are announcing the availability of funds for the popular “Rural Energy for America” program (REAP).

Today, in Chicago, I joined Secretary Vilsack as he met with leaders from Boeing, United Airlines and Honeywell, to talk about support for the development of biofuels to power our jets. In the United States alone, passenger and cargo airlines spend about $50 billion on fuel each year. If just a...

The U.S. Forest Service has approved construction of a wind energy facility on the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont.