USDA Blog

Exceptional grading, standardization and auditing services are the benchmarks that were set by USDA’s Fresh and Processed Products Divisions. The two organizations within USDA supported the produce industry for nearly a century, providing quality grading and auditing services that businesses and...

Urban and community forests, agroforestry, fish and wildlife habitat, mining areas and contaminated lands are the targets of a restoration strategy aimed to help the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S. The final Chesapeake Restoration Strategy, a multi-agency effort released this month...

Visit www.usda.gov/drought for the latest information regarding USDA's drought assistance. Recent rains have dented drought in the Southeast, but southwestern and central portions of the U.S. have experienced little overall change in drought coverage. By January 1, 2013, the portion of the...

There has been little in Ruben Herrera’s life of late to celebrate. The past few years have been marred by drugs, prison, and homelessness. A military vet who was raised on a farm in Gilbert, Arizona, Ruben remembered the sweetness of his childhood rural lifestyle even as he struggled with the...

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 profile. When members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians can’t make it to their local extension office, their extension office...

In southern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, you can see a diverse landscape of woodlands, open wild areas and farmland. But that wasn’t the case about 20 years ago, after the Great Flood of 1993 ravaged the area. That summer, all of these ecosystems resembled a moonscape with most of the...

This is the ninth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. According to a 2011 survey by the Organic Trade Association, organic beverages made up about 12% of total organic food sales growth. Organic wine contributed to that growth...

For 40 years, Vietnam veteran Javier Mancha has developed his Maverick County, Tex. land by hand, and relied on USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to help incorporate conservation practices into his operation. Mancha’s Rosita Valley farm is known locally for growing some of the...

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) office in Ottawa, through its food and beverage alliance, tasteUS!, recently launched a new website that provides Canadians with information on top quality U.S.-grown food and the more than 40 U.S. cooperators whose products are found in grocery stores across...

In recent days, Congressional leaders came together with an agreement to provide middle class tax relief and extend protection for two million unemployed Americans. This agreement provides some relief for all of us who are frustrated with the gridlock that often dominates Washington. It is also good...