USDA Blog

In January 2021, day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, the President issued Executive Order 13985 that charged the Federal Government, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with advancing equity for all, and making the necessary changes to ensure underserved communities are properly...

In support of Section 1006 of the American Rescue Plan and USDA’s commitment to advance equitable access to USDA program and services, the Office of Customer Experience, or OCX, spent the past year working to improve the support provided to USDA’s community-based partners who work to connect...

On February 22-23, agriculture stakeholders gathered at USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum to discuss current and emerging issues affecting U.S. agricultural production and international trade.

Unless you’ve lived through disaster, it’s hard to imagine what might go through your mind when first viewing a wrecked home, property, livelihood, and – seemingly – your future. But one thing that countless disaster survivors can do in the aftermath is give thanks to their neighbors in Cooperative...

What are the macro trends in food production and policy? In this blog, USDA Senior Economist Anne Effland gives an overview of how consumers are shaping the way food is grown and how USDA is supporting the evolving food system. Read more in the article Effland co-authored with Carolyn Dimitri in the...

Remember “plastics make it possible!” – the advertisement campaign from the 1980s? There’s a new kind of plastic in town 30 years later – bioplastics.

At USDA our mission is a vital one: to reduce hunger and increase food security by providing children and low-income people access to food, a nutritious diet and nutrition education. And that mission was put to the test in 2017, in the aftermath of a trio of devastating hurricanes that slammed into...

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria – each Category 4 – all made landfall in less than a month between August and September 2017. It will be hard to ever forget these historic disasters and the toll they took on millions of American families. In recognition of the federal government’s Hurricane...

When a disaster strikes, farmers and ranchers don’t want a process, they want help.

Doug Harper, a fifth-generation farmer, moved to the Texas Gulf Coast area in 2012, looking forward to the potential for increasing corn, cotton, milo, and watermelon production there. Texas farmer Doug Harper comes from a long line of farmers. Growing up in the business, he knows there are always...