USDA Blog

Access to the world via internet and mobile phone services is at the fingertips of most Americans, but this is not the reality for residents of many rural communities across the Nation. In October 2014, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $190.5 million in grants and loans to make broadband...

Protecting agriculture is nothing new for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), who is on the job 24/7 keeping livestock safe from animal disease. APHIS is sharing that expertise internationally to help countries protect livestock and threatened and endangered species from...

Last week, we entered a bold new era of exploration and discovery as NASA launched the Orion spacecraft, a major step testing the possibility of going to Mars. As NASA contemplates sending human missions to Mars, one question we must answer is: what will the astronauts eat and what foods will assist...

Shortly after taking office, I joined other Cabinet officials on a visit to rural Southwest Alaska. We met with Alaska Native leaders and heard firsthand the difficulties facing Native Americans living in small communities in remote, rural areas. Since that time, this administration has worked each...

Cross posted from the Huffington Post: Living in a rural community shouldn't have to come with a hefty price tag for healthcare. On this National Rural Health Day, we celebrate the fact that thanks to the Affordable Care Act, it no longer has to. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is already making a...

Over the past few months, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), as part of the U.S. Panama Commission for Eradication of Screwworm, has started to partner with Peace Corps Volunteers in Panama to enhance APHIS’ surveillance activities. Volunteers will be working in rural Panama...

Velma Hansen has lived in Fort Benton, Montana for over 60 years, the last dozen of them at Canyon Villas. The engaging 91-year-old keeps an impeccably clean apartment in the rent-controlled complex financed by USDA Rural Development. As one of our hundreds of multi-family properties across rural...

Traditional classrooms aren’t the only place where high school students learn new things. Every workday from 12:40 to 2:40 p.m., Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) senior Carroll Barnes is learning outside the classroom through his school’s Work-to-Learn program. He hitches a ride from the program’s...

Today, Secretary Vilsack announced over $190 million of investment in broadband projects through USDA's Community Connect program, the Public Television Digital Transition Grant, and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program. Time and time again, we hear stories about the significant impact...

Trade... Employee safety... U.S. Livestock Health… Every organization must work to balance its priorities, and these are just a few of the priorities that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has as part of its work at the livestock inspection facilities along the border between...