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How USDA Scientists are Winning the Battle Against Invasive Fruit Flies

April 27, 2023 Cecilia Sequeira, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Invasive fruit flies, such as the Oriental, Mexican, Mediterranean, and European cherry fruit fly, pose threats to many U.S. commercial and homegrown crops. If established, these flies could cause significant economic losses, requiring costly treatments to protect fruits and vegetables and reducing...

Animals Research and Science

Upcoming USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Center Programs Offer In-Person, Hands-On Training and Technical Assistance for Producers and Processors

March 23, 2023 Jennifer Porter, Agricultural Marketing Service, Deputy Administrator, Livestock and Poultry Program

Producers, feeders, and other stakeholders who want a better understanding of factors that contribute to the market value of cattle, and how these factors can inform marketing and production decisions, can join us at three upcoming in-person events at the USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Centers...

Animals

200 Years of Bilateral Relations with Mexico: Protecting Agricultural Resources from Plant Pests and Animal Disease Threats on Both Sides of the Border

January 19, 2023 Nick Gutiérrez, APHIS, International Services Regional Manager in Mexico

As of December 2022, United States and Mexico are celebrating 200 years of bilateral relations. Over these two hundred years, our nations have developed rich diplomatic and cultural ties where agriculture and trade considerations feature a prominent role.

Animals Plants Trade

Alternative Uses for Fladry

December 15, 2022 Gail Keirn, Wildlife Services Communication Program Specialist, APHIS

Wildlife Services (WS) experts are exploring how fladry, a nonlethal tool used to protect cattle, sheep, and other livestock from wolves, can prevent other wildlife damage.

Animals

Becoming a Tree Climber: Training in the Trees

November 28, 2022 Merilyn Navarro Sanchez, Communications Intern, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

For the first time ever, expert tree climbers with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program trained fellow APHIS employees from another program on how to climb trees with a purpose.

Animals

Tracking Citrus Health in the Texas Rio Grande Valley

November 07, 2022 Nohelia Lopez-Izaguirre, APHIS Public Affairs Intern

Growing up in the Texas Rio Grande Valley - in the richness of Mexican-Texan culture, tradition, and food - citrus is a staple in our everyday life. But I never knew that diseases threatened citrus production. That changed this summer. As a communications intern, I had the opportunity to job shadow...

Animals Plants

African Swine Fever, Part 2: Safeguarding the Future

October 13, 2022 Shilo Weir, APHIS Public Affairs Specialist

USDA has a proven track record of protecting U.S. farmers and has many safeguards in place to prevent the introduction of foreign animal diseases.

Animals

African Swine Fever, Part 1: A Look at the Past

October 11, 2022 Shilo Weir, APHIS Public Affairs Specialist

African swine fever (ASF) has existed for more than a century. ASF is a highly contagious, deadly disease affecting both domestic and feral pigs, devastating pork industries around the globe. ASF was first described in 1921 in Kenya. In the decades that followed, it spread in several sub-Saharan...

Animals

For the Love of Trees, Please Check Yours for Asian Longhorned Beetle

August 30, 2022 Jenny Lester Moffitt, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs

I recently decided to go for a walk on a seasonably warm afternoon. I got out of my car at a wooded recreation area and immediately noticed how much cooler the air felt, thanks to the biggest plants on Earth – trees. From my years growing up on and then managing my family’s organic walnut farm I...

Forestry Initiatives Plants

Scientists Explore Gene Editing to Manage Invasive Species

July 20, 2022 Cecilia Sequeira, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

In the U.S., the environmental and economic costs caused by invasive species are estimated to exceed $120 billion per year. Since invasive pests have few or no natural predators, they can quickly spread, and throw off entire ecosystems by pushing out native species and reducing biological diversity...

Animals Research and Science