USDA Blog

Volunteers from the U.S. Forest Service joined forces with Leon County, Florida residents recently to participate in the county’s 17 th annual Super-Clean Sweep cleanup activities which included parts of the Apalachicola National Forest. The county-wide event was part of the “Keep Tallahassee Leon...

Nebraska news media, including local daily and weekly newspapers and radio stations around the state highlighted the energy tour conducted by U SDA Rural Development Nebraska State Director Maxine Moul on March 23. She met with three Nebraska businesses that were assisted through the Rural Energy...

The Spotted Bear Ranger Station at the Flathead National Forest in western Montana generates electricity using micro-hydropower. Like a traditional hydro dam, this small water system converts the energy of flowing water into electricity. When the water level of Addition Creek on the ranger station...

America’s farmers are among our first and finest conservationists. At USDA, we support their work to protect natural landscapes, improve water and air quality, and preserve wildlife habitat, forests and soil. In addition to environmental benefits, this work helps drive economic growth and creates...

Conservation is in plain sight on Janet Kline’s Hidden View Farm in Virginia, with streamside fencing and buffers well integrated into the rolling vistas of the Massanutten and Little North mountains. These conservation practices were implemented with the help of USDA’s Natural Resources...

The largest wood beams ever tested are being studied at the US Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wis. If you’ve ever wondered what 80,000 pounds of load looks or sounds like when applied to a 72-foot-long, 3-ton wood beam, now’s your chance. Bam! View this short video to...

On March 14-15, employees from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) participated in the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Employment Extravaganza in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Thanks to advertisements in the school newspaper and other local media outlets, the event had a great turnout. The...

Most people are familiar with the weekly summer ritual of mowing the lawn. At best, the smell of fresh cut grass is appealing, but often the task is considered time consuming, tiring and expensive. What if your “lawn” was actually hundreds of acres in size, and how often you mowed it, what type of...

It’s time for the NCAA Men’s Final Four --- and all eyes are usually glued to the action on the court. But this year special attention is being paid to the actual court itself. This ‘Court of Champions’ comes from the Menominee Forest and Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Wisconsin. It all began with...

If you teach it, you must live it. That is the wisdom Steven R. Kochemba adheres to. Kochemba is a science teacher and the athletic director for the Joseph Badger School District in Trumbull County north of Youngstown, Ohio. He’s also a farmer. Among his other science courses, Kochemba teaches 8 th...