USDA Blog

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...

Legendary Native American Indian activist, educator and former government official Ada Deer (Menominee) delivered a charge to those attending USDA’s Native American Heritage Month observance here in Washington last week. “Be activists to achieve change,” she said. “We all pay our rent on the planet...

There were many things to celebrate about the newly paved nine-mile stretch of the Diamond Bar Road in Western Arizona, a road that links state and county roads to Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Reservation. At the ribbon cutting celebration for the completed road, Tribal, state and federal...

Here in South Dakota, we're proud of the agricultural products we produce, and local farmer's markets are a great venue to get these products directly in the hands of consumers. One market I wanted to single out is the Country Farmer's Market held in our capital of Pierre, South Dakota. Terry...

In a knowledge-based economy, libraries have a central role in helping rural residents learn and communicate. I stressed this point at a recent groundbreaking ceremony for the Lake Odessa Community Library. Libraries are increasingly important for rural communities. They have expanded their role...