USDA Blog

Last week, the Senate Agriculture Committee took a first look at a proposed version of the Farm Bill – or, as I call it – the farm, food and jobs bill. This is an important first step in the process to write the legislation and get it passed into law. Farmers, ranchers, and the men and women who...

Today, USDA announced an extension to the public comment period for a proposed rule that would modernize the poultry slaughter inspection system. This new plan would provide us with the opportunity to protect consumers from unsafe food more effectively. We recognize that this proposal would...

This is the fourth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. When the National Organic Program (NOP) declared in late 2009 that it was the beginning of the “age of enforcement,” it renewed its mission to protect the integrity of the USDA...

Dr. Nancy Atkins’ devotion to animals is deep-rooted and widespread. She says she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian before she even knew what a veterinarian was, and now she oversees the welfare of poultry and livestock across ten states. Dr. Atkins is a District Veterinary Medical Specialist at...