USDA Blog

February is traditionally a month of celebration for our nation’s 1890 land-grant universities (LGUs) in commemoration of Black History Month. These institutions are historically-black universities that were established in 1890 under the Second Morrill Act. Now, as the month draws to an end, 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. At the recent Agricultural Outlook Forum I had the pleasure of speaking with hundreds of people regarding a new program I’m...

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. A phone call to USDA’s National Agricultural Library (NAL) seeking the original magazines with Robert Frost’s first published...

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. The U.S. Forest Service has a long history as a leader in conservation genetics, and this recently took an exciting step...

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. Bill Gates, once simply of Microsoft fame, is now as famous for his dedication to reducing hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa and...

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. Low prices for commodity crops are never good for agricultural producers. But for small farmers, many of whom already depend...

This is not your granddad’s weed whacker. It is, in fact, a weed control system that farmers have only dreamed of – a high-speed machine that can not only distinguish weeds from the value crop, but can eliminate those weeds as carefully as a backyard gardener working by hand. David Slaughter, of the...

We often talk about the many ways research and promotion (R&P) programs benefit both ag industries and the consumer. Our nation’s farmers and ranchers leverage these programs and the pooled resources they collect to help overcome marketing barriers and connect with consumers. R&P programs are self...

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. The Matrix is in a classroom near you – not the 1999 hit movie, but a blockbuster nonetheless. The National Agricultural...

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. Good day, or “Goede dag as they say in Dutch. And a good several days we experienced in the Netherlands at the 3 rd Annual...