USDA Blog

April showers bring May flowers and for USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), this means the release of 2021 floriculture data. Look for more flora in this data bouquet; NASS expanded the floriculture program to cover all 50 states and more than 30 new crops.

USDA wishes you a happy National Asparagus Day! Americans consume over 500 million pounds of asparagus each year, and 80-90% of that is imported, mainly from Mexico and Peru. While domestic production continues to decline year-by-year, per capita consumption is growing and U.S. growers still produce...

Earth Day is a global movement empowering people to create real change in the world to help our environment and natural resources. I recently visited two Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) laboratories to see the actions they are taking to stop invasive insects and protect crops and...

For the second time in his career, Marvin Enoe, Tree Climber Supervisor with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Ohio Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program, was in the right place at the right time. While driving for work, Enoe stopped to deliver life-saving aid to a tractor...

The Ohio Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program in Ohio started participating in USDA’s People's Garden initiative to grow fresh produce for those in need within our local community. One of our tree climbers started the garden at the Bethel office and formed a partnership with the Kitchen...

The spirit of The International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) was in full force this St. Patrick’s Day when President Joe Biden was presented with a shamrock bowl by the Irish Taoiseach (Irish for “chief or leader” – pronounced “tee-shuhk”), Micheál Martin, on March 17, 2021 at the White House. The...

Plants can serve as a profound symbol of friendship, especially when they cross an ocean to help two nations strengthen their bonds. I witnessed this firsthand on March 9, when I visited the Irish Embassy in Washington, D.C., joining Irish Ambassador to the United States Daniel Mulhall as he...

Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent the following message to all USDA employees: I want to take this opportunity on my final day at USDA to express my profound gratitude to the people who work at USDA. Every day, nearly 90,000 people leave their families and the comfort of their home to do...

According to recent data on local food marketing practices, 167,000 U.S. farms locally produced and sold food through direct marketing practices, resulting in $8.7 billion in revenue. Pennsylvania led the U.S. in the number of farms selling directly to consumers, with more than 6,000 operations...

If there is one word that best embodies agriculture, it is entrepreneurship. Over the course of my time at USDA, I’ve had the chance to meet with farmers, ranchers and food business of all sizes and in all parts of the country. The faces of these entrepreneurs and their innovative strategies and...