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New Snowpack and Precipitation Normals Now Available

December 14, 2021 Lexi Landers, Hydrologist, National Water and Climate Center

Recently, the Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting (SSWSF) Program published new 30-year hydroclimatic normal values or “normals” for snowpack and precipitation at western U.S. monitoring stations. This information serves as a benchmark for assessing water supply conditions and is used by...

Conservation

Virginia Schools Pilot Offers Food Waste Education

December 13, 2021 Barbara Bowen, Virginia NRCS

Through a unique collaboration with USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, food leftovers from six district schools in Prince William County, Virginia, are now being sorted, bagged, and collected before being mixed with organic yard waste and processed into compost at the...

Conservation

Celebrating the Special Powers of Bats

October 27, 2021 Jocelyn Benjamin, USDA Public Affairs Specialist

Bats aren’t just hanging around here for the boo’s. They play an irreplaceable role in our ecosystems.

Animals Conservation

Conservation Innovation Grant Creates Market Opportunity for Small Grains in Midwest

October 13, 2021 Lucas Isakowitz, NRCS Presidential Management Fellow

Thanks to the NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program, a coalition of partners including Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) and Sustainable Food Lab are tackling water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas issues in the Midwest.

Conservation

Improving Addiction Recovery Care for Virginians

October 13, 2021 James Pinsky, Public Affairs Specialist for USDA Rural Development

For people suffering from addiction, the chances of recovery are oftentimes only as good as the care they receive. And for decades, the Boxwood Recovery Center in Culpeper, Virginia struggled to provide the high-quality care it was capable of, as it operated out of a deteriorating former roadside...

Rural

USDA Community Compost Grant Opens Up Potential to Compost 25% of Landfill Waste in Anchorage, Alaska

October 06, 2021 Tracy Robillard, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Alaska

The Municipality of Anchorage is the largest urban area in Alaska, with its close to 300,000 residents making up 40 percent of the state’s population. This makes Anchorage a prime area for urban agriculture.

Conservation

Healthcare Partnership Provides Needed Nurses in Southwest Missouri

October 05, 2021 Cortney Bealer, USDA Rural Development Public Affairs

In 2013, Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Bolivar, Missouri experienced an overwhelming shortage of quality healthcare professionals. Simultaneously, its partner Bolivar Technical College (BTC) had outgrown its facility and had twice as many applicants as it had space for students.

Rural

Locals Take the Initiative to Save and Improve Their Hospital

September 23, 2021 Shelby Johnsen, Public Affairs Specialist for USDA Rural Development

Aging infrastructure and technology were taking their toll on the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital, now known as Hot Springs Health, in Thermopolis, Wyoming. However, with local demand and tourists on their way to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, patient levels were increasing...

Rural

Expanding Affordable Healthcare in Rural South Carolina

September 16, 2021 Stephanie Bittiker, USDA Rural Development Public Information Officer

Having access to quality health care is often a problem for low-income patients who live in rural communities. Fortunately, there are medical facilities such as Sandhills Medical Foundation, Inc in Lugoff, South Carolina that work on a sliding fee scale, which means that all their patients...

Equity Rural

Expanding Elderly Care for a Better Community

September 09, 2021 Benjamin Wooddy, Public Information Officer for USDA Rural Development

In December 2017, Steve Coetzee, President and CEO of the Fahrney-Keedy Memorial Home, realized many of the surrounding senior care facilities in Boonsboro, Maryland were closing and that his team would need to expand their facility to meet future demand. However, the home did not have the available...

Rural