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High Five: NIFA-Funded Research Improves Agriculture

December 29, 2015 Scott Elliott, NIFA Public Affairs

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 portfolio. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) invests in agricultural sciences that turn research into action by...

Research and Science

High Five for NIFA-Funded Projects at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

December 15, 2015 Scott Elliott, NIFA Public Affairs

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 portfolio. As we look back on 2015, NIFA is also celebrating the partnership we have developed with the nation’s land-grant...

Research and Science

A Banner Year for Leadership: 5 Ways We're Answering America's Agricultural and Environmental Challenges

December 14, 2015 Justice Wright, Research, Education and Economics and Rich Derksen, Office of the Chief Scientist

USDA scientists work 365 days to provide safe and sustainable food, water, and natural resources in the face of a changing climate and uncertain energy sources. To recognize the contribution that agricultural science and research makes in our daily lives, this week’s “Banner Year” series features...

Conservation Food and Nutrition Research and Science

A Banner Year for Education: 5 Grants Supporting Ag Education at All Levels, from Classrooms to Farms and the Table

December 09, 2015 Scott Elliot, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

USDA scientists work 365 days to provide safe and sustainable food, water, and natural resources in the face of a changing climate and uncertain energy sources. To recognize the contribution that agricultural science and research makes in our daily lives, this week’s “Banner Year” series features...

Initiatives

Rural America in the Post-Recession Years

December 08, 2015 Lorin Kusmin, Economic Research Service

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 portfolio. Each year, USDA’s Economic Research Service provides a snapshot of the rural economy in a report entitled Rural America at a...

Research and Science

A Banner Year for Research: 5 Innovative Projects Aimed at Helping Growers

December 08, 2015 Kim Kaplan, Public Affairs Specialist, Agricultural Research Service

USDA scientists work 365 days to provide safe and sustainable food, water, and natural resources in the face of a changing climate and uncertain energy sources. To recognize the contribution that agricultural science and research makes in our daily lives, this week’s “Banner Year” series features...

Research and Science

Job Corps Students, Alumnae 'Pay it Forward,' Helping Each Other Learn Leadership Skills

December 08, 2015 Michaela Hall and Jane Knowlton, U.S. Forest Service

Preparing for a career involves many steps, plus individual motivation as well as help from those who’ve gone before you. That’s what a group of 60 Harpers Ferry Job Corps students explored recently during a recent training session related to job preparedness for the U.S. Forest Service. Their...

Initiatives Forestry

Library Garden Provides 'Rest Stop' for Monarch Butterflies

December 04, 2015 Ellen Starr, Biologist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Illinois

The pollinator garden at our library in Princeton, Ill. is a popular rest stop for monarch butterflies on their cross-continental journey. My agency, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), worked with local partners and businesses to create a 2,400-square-foot pollinator garden as a...

Conservation Initiatives

Walnuts Have Fewer Calories than the Label Suggests, ARS Researcher Discovers

December 03, 2015 Dennis O'Brien, ARS Public Affairs Specialist

USDA scientists have found that walnuts have 21 percent fewer calories than previously thought, which is good news for the weight-conscious nut lover! Researchers with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service fed volunteers a controlled diet consisting of walnut halves and pieces (45 grams) for three...

Research and Science

From Boots to Roots: Helping Women and Hispanic Vets Earn Ag, STEM Degrees

December 02, 2015 Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

A professor in the Lone Star State is counting on two underrepresented groups to play a major role in the future of agriculture. Ken Mix, assistant professor of agriculture at Texas State University (TSU), is the project director of a new program called “Boots to Roots,” a program that helps female...

Initiatives